


Not All Heroes Wear Capes

by GilbyJuly4th



Category: Sanders Sides (Web Series)
Genre: Actor Roman, Alternate Universe - Roommates/Housemates, Alternate Universe - Superheroes/Superpowers, Christmas, Empath Morality | Patton Sanders, Florida, G/T, Giant Anxiety | Virgil Sanders, Height Differences, M/M, Mindreader Remus, Size Shifter Virgil, Teacher Logan, Telekinetic Logan, college student virgil
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-01-19
Updated: 2020-07-13
Packaged: 2021-02-27 07:41:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 17
Words: 28,596
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22313461
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GilbyJuly4th/pseuds/GilbyJuly4th
Summary: Everyone has secrets.Even roommates.But it is not your secrets that define you.Rather, it is what you do with them.
Relationships: Anxiety | Virgil Sanders/Creativity | Roman "Princey" Sanders, Logic | Logan Sanders & Morality | Patton Sanders, Logicality, Plantonic LAMP, Prinxiety
Comments: 74
Kudos: 203





	1. Waking Sleeping Beauty

**Author's Note:**

> Chapter One Trigger Warning: Implied Alcohol Abuse! (Not seen, but alluded to)

This was bad.

This was real bad.

Roman already had a hard time falling asleep as it was. His brain was constantly on go-mode, and while dreams were amazing, step one to those particular experiences was to fall asleep. Recently, he started self-medicating to battle his insomnia. On good days, he used melatonin. On bad days, he used alcohol. Today was a bad day, but the night was about to get worse. 

He heard noises, loud noises. Banging definitely. Shouting? Who was shouting? And he could almost swear he felt the walls vibrate. “Jeez Roman,” he thought sleepily, “you really do need to cut back.” But that still didn’t account for the raised voices, which he now recognized as belonging to two of his geekier roommates. 

Roman glanced at the clock, 2:45am. “For the love of Lea Salonga,” he muttered to himself. They knew he had a big audition for that national tour tomorrow morning! It was an open call too. That meant he’d have to get up in 3 hours, sign his name in person on the waitlist, then sit around a crowded rehearsal hall warming up for Lord knows how long in the hopes of even being seen by the casting assistants. How the hell was he supposed to get his beauty sleep with this kind of racket going on?!

Roman looked in the mirror off to the side of his bed out of habit. He wasn’t as vain as he knew everyone thought he was. To be honest, he was incredibly self conscious. It took him years to shape his body in a way that made him happy, and it was a point of pride that he finally made it. At this moment however, his gaze was focused on the blurry reflection of his face. Puffy eyes stared back at him and he was convinced he could see wrinkles starting to form. Roman briefly considered that his recent spike in drinking probably didn’t help. Maybe it could be something to address for next year’s New Year’s resolution, but he couldn’t think about that now. 

Now, he was fuming. Roman could admit that he occasionally came off as extra and over the top, but he took his career very seriously. He explained to all three of his roommates how important this audition was to him and they clearly didn’t care. He felt hot, bordering on the edge of righteous anger. “Not today,” Roman seethed, wrapping his blanket like a cape over his shoulders. He opened his bedroom door to confront the others and give them a piece of his mind.

Or so he thought.

“Virgil, let us in!”

“Open the door, Virgil!”

“GO AWAY!”

Roman staggered in the doorway, having to brace himself against the wall to readjust his stance. Were they having an earthquake? In Florida?

“Logan, can’t you open it?!”

“I’ve been trying!”

“I thought you could pick locks!”

“I can, Patton, but if he’s up against the door itself-”

“What the hell is going on?!” Roman demanded.

A hush fell over the hallway. Logan and Patton both turned to look at the indignant diva before them.

“Apologies for waking you Roman.”

“Roman, we’re so sorry, but Virgil’s-”

“Being difficult!” Logan interrupted.

“In trouble!” Patton proceeded, ignoring Logan’s side eye.

Roman’s scowl changed in an instant. All the heat behind his agitation melted away. An open call was one thing. A friend in need was another matter entirely, and Virgil’s safety was more important to him than anything.

“What’s happened?” he asked, genuine concern in his voice. He walked over to join his other roommates.

At his approach, Patton blanched. The hallway lights were on a dimmer, but Roman could have sworn he saw fear flash behind his shorter friend’s glasses. He absolutely heard a sharp inhale from the other taller bespectacled man standing behind him. Roman’s brain went into wide awake overdrive.

“Is he hurt?” he asked them. Then, a chilling thought came to him. No. No way. But he had to ask, “Did Virgil hurt himself?”

Roman had seen Patton cry before. That sweet cinnamon roll always wore his heart on his sleeve and wasn’t afraid to show it. One time, all four of them were watching Enchanted for their monthly movie night, and Patton flat-out sobbed when “So Close” started playing during the ballroom scene. Roman sometimes wished he was able to turn on his own waterworks as easily. Maybe he’d be cast in more dramas if he could. Honestly, Roman thought Patton’s open emotional vulnerability was one of the most beautiful parts about that Sweet Pea (a nickname Patton adored for its punny nature).

But this was different. For once, Patton was holding back his tears. Roman almost didn’t catch it, save for one rascal that escaped from beneath his buddy’s round lenses. 

That was all the answer he needed. 

“VIRGIL OPEN THIS DOOR THIS INSTANT OR I SWEAR I WILL BREAK IT DOWN MYSELF!”

Logan gasped. He must have been holding his breath the entire time. “Roman wait-!”

Something akin to a guttural wail sounded all around them. The three roommates in the hallway had to slap their hands over their ears. A large decorative painting of abstract swirls and circles fell off the wall and nearly toppled on top of Patton. 

Nearly. Because Logan stopped it in midair. 

Roman looked up in awe. Patton was still crouched over, but Logan was upright and had his left arm outstretched with his fingers purposefully extended. The picture dangled above Patton. By itself. For far longer than it should have. 

“Wait, what?” Roman whispered. Alcohol had given him the shakes before, but he definitely didn’t have enough to hallucinate this.

Even in the dimmed lighting, Roman could see the usually stoic man blush. Nonetheless, that didn't stop Logan from gently taking ahold of the floating picture with his physical hands and gingerly placing it back on the wall.

“Are you alright, Patton?” Logan inquired softly, ignoring Roman’s response for the moment.

“I’m always alright, kiddo,” Patton said, but he was obviously still shaken. 

“Um, maybe I could use a hand?” he added. With Patton’s permission, Logan grabbed onto a sleeve covered arm and swiftly brought his smallest roommate to standing.

“And I could use an explanation,” Roman said.

“Oh Roman,” Patton started sadly, “We wanted to tell you…”

But to both Patton and Logan’s surprise, Roman’s attention wasn’t directed at them. Rather it was directed squarely at their final unseen roommate. He knocked on Virgil’s door.

“Virgil,” Roman spoke evenly, “I don’t know what’s going on, but Patton almost got injured and I think you had something to do with it. Please open the door and let us all inside.”

There was a pause. 

Then a faint click was heard of a lock being turned in reverse. 

Roman put his hand on the brass doorknob, but another warm hand reached out, hovering above his.

“Let me?” Patton asked.

Then Logan startled Roman from behind, placing his own hand on his roommate’s broader shoulder. 

In the time he had lived with him, Roman had never seen Logan initiate physical contact with anyone. Now his touch silently begged Roman to hold back. The situation must be even graver than he had originally thought.

Roman took his hand off the doorknob and only then did Logan release his grasp. 

At that, Patton’s hand gently turned the handle and opened Virgil’s door.


	2. An Actor Takes Action

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter Two Trigger Warning: Blood

Roman was rarely speechless. If he had an opinion, he would gladly share it, at length, with anyone who would listen. Being an actor was a practically perfect career for him, he would literally get paid (sometimes) to monologue. 

However, Roman had no words for the sight presented in front of him. 

Virgil was supposed to be his height. Both 5’10” (when Virgil wasn’t slumped in his characteristic slouch) they could easily stare directly into each other’s eyes. An ongoing staring contest was just one game the two of them enjoyed playing to piss each other off. 

Virgil was also built thinner. Roman loved this about him for purely selfish reasons. If he was losing said staring contest, Roman could overcome the outcome by literally throwing the scrawnier dude over his shoulders. Because hey, what good were all those bench presses he worked so hard for if not to sweep his favorite dark and stormy knight off his feet? 

Roman remembered the first time he did that. Patton screeched like a shrill soprano and Logan stood up so fast he knocked over his chair and the one next to it. And they thought Roman was the dramatic one? 

However, Virgil surprised everybody by laughing. The gloomy goth was so taken aback by the ridiculous stunt he actually had a fit of giggles. It was sweet music to Roman’s ears. He promised himself that day that he would try to make his height twinning roomie laugh whenever he possibly could. 

Roman was strong enough to playfully roughhouse Virgil on any average day.

But there was no way in hell he could deadlift the decidedly-larger-than-5’10” behemoth curled up on the floor now. 

Virgil was gigantic. A literal giant who could only fit in his bedroom lying down in a fetal position.

Such a realization left Roman completely dumbstruck.

Logan and Patton were also at a loss for what to say. Patton, for his part, was being halfway honest before. He had wanted to tell Roman sooner. It was Logan who would have preferred to have kept all three of their secrets hidden. He didn’t have anything against Roman personally, but he knew from experience that however any acquaintance presented themselves socially, an individual’s gut reaction to supernatural phenomena was unpredictable. 

For example, he would have never expected this stunned silence out of the usually loquacious theatre professional.

It was Patton, surprisingly, who was actually the first to speak up.

“Ok, so,” he started nervously, “we’ve got some heavy feelings going on here and that’s not necessarily bad! Obviously we have a lot to talk about-”

“ARE YOU HURT?” the giant before them interjected.

His voice resonated as though the bass function had been turned all the way up on Garageband. Standing in front of Virgil, Roman realized that the acoustic timber of his distortion was what caused those vibrations throughout their rented house. With the knowledge of this settling in, Roman had to steady his wavering self, mentally as well as physically. Virgil caught his reaction (how could he not with those obscenely large eyes?) and slapped a hand over his own big mouth. 

Patton, bless his heart, was still focused entirely on the enlarged kiddo before him.

“No harm done, son, but I know you’re hurting. Do you want me to-”

Virgil shook his head, causing the walls around them to rattle again slightly. Not nearly as bad as before, but it was still a lot for Roman to process. 

Logan finally asserted his typical calm authority. 

“Virgil, perhaps it is best to keep your communication non verbal until your attack drops to a more manageable level.”

He adjusted his square frames further up the bridge of his nose before turning to Roman.

“As Patton previously stated, we do have a lot to talk about. I’ll do my best to explain everything as simply as possible-”

But before Logan could finish, Roman committed yet another unpredictable move. He promptly left the room full of purpose. Looking back on that night, Roman himself couldn’t say what possessed him to do what he did next. However, a big part of Roman’s self identity was that he was an actor. His very soul needed to act. Perhaps for this reason, when push came to shove, he was compelled to action.

The door to his bedroom was still ajar. Hanging next to the mirror on two command hooks was a cheap ukulele. Very quickly, Roman pulled it down, tested the strings with the traditional 4 note “my dog has fleas” tuning, and decided it was close enough for what he had to do next.

He softly ran through the first two chords of the intro to get the song he had in mind back into his muscle memory. Once satisfied, Roman played the tune at a volume he hoped Virgil could hear. 

“Let’s go in the garden  
You’ll find something ....”

He hesitated as he remembered the fingering for the next chord.

“Waiting” 

Ok good, what was “Right”...? E minor!

“Right there where you left it  
Lying upside down” 

It wasn’t exactly the official version the glorious Rebecca Sugar performed, but to be fair, Roman learned the song in a day for an audition that required “singers with instrumental experience”. He didn’t get the part, but he did discover a new skill to add to his resume. Besides, it was fun to finally be able to accompany his own singing. 

Now that he was back in the rhythm of the song, the next part was easy because it repeated the same chord pattern as before. 

“When you finally find it  
You'll see how it's faded  
The underside is lighter  
When you turn it around”

The chorus was coming up next, but that section thankfully had simpler chords. 

Roman turned back to face the hallway and raised his voice a little louder.

“Everything stays  
Right where you left it”

He walked through the hallway, towards Virgil’s bedroom.

“Everything stays  
But it still changes”

He stood beneath the frame of the other door.

“Ever so slightly” 

Patton had both of his hands up in fists covering his mouth. Logan had his mouth agape in shock. Roman placed himself between them.

“Daily and nightly  
In little ways”

He stood directly in front of a very vast Virgil.

“When everything stays…”

Roman continued to play the intro again without singing. He looked straight through Virgil’s long fuchsia bangs and into his big brown eyes. 

“Can you do your four seven eight breathing thing, Stormageddon?”

Virgil cocked an eyebrow at that, as shocked at Roman’s nonchalance as the other two human sized roommates were.

Roman just kept playing. 

Suddenly he sang again to the tune of the song’s verse.

“One two three four One two  
Three Four Five Six Seven  
One two three four five six  
Seven and Eight.”

Virgil did his damnedest to suppress a laugh, but a quick snort escaped out from behind his overgrown fingers. It was Roman’s turn to cock an eyebrow.

“Why are you laughing at this lyrical brilliance?” he said before starting again with gusto.

“ONE TWO THREE FOUR,” then coyly whispered, “one two.”

Virgil almost collapsed in on himself with chuckles. The walls rattled again when he made the motion, but this time Logan could swear the colossal nervous wreck was shrinking.

“Roman,” Logan whispered sotto voce, regaining his motor skills again. However, he briefly paused. He knew he’d never live this down, but-

“Keep singing please?”

Roman didn’t need to be asked twice.

He continued:

“Four Five Six Seven  
One two three four five six”

There was no question about it. At the sound of his roommate’s warbling, Virgil was clearly compacting. 

Roman unconsciously switched back to the original words for the chorus. He kept playing and singing, a little slower than before. Virgil retracted to his normal size back in time for the song’s final strum, which he matched with a evenly volumed exhale. 

Roman smiled. Virgil was back to his human height, albeit still lying on the floor. 

“Feeling keen, Marceline?” Roman inquired, suddenly aware that he was the one now towering over Virgil. He chose to rectify this by couching down, being more at level with the alabaster ball of anxiety.

It was only once he was at this angle that Roman saw the blood.


	3. These Nights Never Seem to Go to Plan

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter Two Trigger Warning: Blood

“I’ll get the bleach,” Logan announced cooly, and he left before anyone could respond.

Roman surveyed the disaster that was Virgil’s bedroom. All of the furniture was smushed up against the walls haphazardly. He was surprised most of it was still intact. Some drawers had fallen open, but Roman knew there were already piles of messy clothes on the floor before whatever happened had happened. Virgil was good about keeping the common area of their shared house clean, but he didn’t give a shit about the disorganization of his personal batcave. 

No, it wasn’t the furniture or mounds of clothes that made Virgil’s room look like a scene of a crime. It was the pool of blood where his formerly massive hands had been. 

Virgil saw where Roman’s gaze fell.  
“It looks worse than it is,” he said, his voice thankfully back to a human tone.

“Really?” Roman couldn’t help himself from retorting, “because it looks like a murder occured on the Emo Express”

“It’s his. From when he was bigger,” Patton said quietly. He crouched down and reached out his hands to his friend in pain.

“Virgil, please, let me help, you’re hurting.”

“You can’t fix what’s hurting me, Pat,” Virgil said bluntly.

“I can fix your hand,” Patton replied, still reaching ahead but not touching. 

Not until he got the ok.

Virgil bit his lip. He knew that Patton understood what he actually meant, but had chosen to avoid addressing it. Regardless, Virgil did extend his left palm. 

“Woah, Virge!” Roman gasped. Virgil’s hand had a gnarly gash that clearly needed more attention than a basic first aid kit could provide. “We should take you to the hospital for stitches!”

Virgil, however, gently shook his head. 

“You saw what I can do, Sir Sing-A-Lot,” he said wryly, “now you get to see Patton’s neat trick.”

Before he could ask what he was talking about, Roman watched Patton take hold of Virgil’s injured appendage and cover it with both hands. Patton’s thumbs made small massage circles gently over the top of Virgil’s pale skin. After a minute, he squeezed and gave the hand a quick kiss before releasing it.

Roman’s eyes widened when Virgil lifted his arm to him in a lazy wave. The cut was completely gone, blood, gore and all. 

Virgil sat up and took in Roman’s reaction. At seeing wonderment instead of fear in his roommate’s expression, he decided it was best to just spit out the truth: 

“Patton’s a healer, I’m a size shifter, and Logan’s basically Matilda”

“Who am I?” the fourth roommate asked from behind them. Logan was back carrying cleaning supplies: bleach, mop, and a bucket of water. Nope, scratch that. Logan was carrying the bleach and the bucket by their handles, but the mop was following behind him like one of the brooms from Fantasia, seemingly of its own volition. 

“Oh Matilda!” Roman exclaimed, making the connection, “because you can move things with your mind!”

“My name is Logan. Roman, you know this,” Logan said primly, “and the technical term for my ability is telekinesis.”

The mop started dunking itself into the bucket.

“I’ll take it from here” Virgil stood up, his healed hand reaching out for the items.

“You will not,” Logan countered. The supplies flew over his roommates’ heads and out of any of their arms’ reach.

“You three need to go into the living room, drink non caffeinated warm beverages, talk to each other, and then all of us will go to sleep”

“I thought Patton was the Dad in our dynamic?” Roman mused to himself, but didn’t say anything aloud. Nonetheless, he brought himself to standing. He also offered a hand to Patton, who accepted it with a kind smile.

Virgil, however, was not satisfied. “It’s my mess, Logan,” he replied.

“It’ll be faster if I do it,” Logan stated, “besides,” he added with a more considered tone, “Roman deserves an explanation about this evening and it would be better if it came from the primary source.”

Virgil couldn’t argue with that logic, but he still wasn’t completely at ease. After all, Roman had now seen him at his absolute worst. Not just bad, but the worst he had let himself get in years. 

But in spite of tonight being a crazy shit show, Roman shockingly hadn’t freaked out over discovering any of his roomies’ quirks. 

And it was Roman who brought him down to size.

That had to account for something, right?

Virgil meekly turned to the dreamy prince that a monster like him was obviously not worthy of. 

“You sure you don’t wanna just run away, Ro?” he asked softly, “None of us would blame you if you did.”

Roman thought for a moment, keenly aware that not only Virgil, but Patton and Logan had their apprehensive eyes on him as well. 

He realized two things were for certain. 

One, he was definitely not going to that stupid audition tomorrow. 

Two, he knew how he could lighten up his favorite storm cloud. 

He went to lift Virgil up, but instead of the usual fireman carry, he held his chemically imbalanced romance bridal style between his arms. 

Roman still had his blanket wrapped around him like a cape and Virgil couldn’t help but think, out of all four of these weirdos living together, it was the man without any super powers who was his hero tonight.

“I’m not going anywhere,” Roman said clearly, “no matter how much my creepy cookie crumbles.”

Holding Virgil firmly against his chest, he then turned to face the onlooking eyes of Logan and Patton.

“And that goes for you nerds too!”


	4. Tea L C

Patton went into the kitchen to rummage through the cabinets for mugs and tea bags. The electric kettle was filled with as much water as he could get away with, and he was going to make four cups, whether Logan would actually drink his or not. 

First, he found his tallest roommate’s Tardis shaped mug, which thankfully was not on the high shelf tonight. 

Next, he pulled down Roman’s Disney World Gaston’s Tavern mug that was shaped like a beer stein. Patton frowned. He loved Beauty and the Beast, but he didn’t like the alcoholic implications of this particular cup. Patton knew Roman had been drinking to pass out the last few nights and he was starting to worry about his friend’s wellbeing. On the other hand, he also knew this evening was not the time to bring it up, and none of Roman’s other dishes were clean anyway. It would simply have to do.

Even without tonight’s anxiety attack, Patton could tell Virgil had been feeling especially overwhelmed lately. Virgil needed something that wouldn’t provide any more excess mental simulation. Patton found a simple black coffee mug shaped like a cauldron that had no logos on it at all. Perfect.

As for himself, he pulled down his granny style tea cup, the one with the pale blue roses around the border of its lip. He recognized that he needed something homey and traditional for his own self care. 

Patton was grateful for this brief moment to himself. There were so many strong feelings surrounding him tonight. 

Panic was still radiating off Virgil, and in spite of his collected exterior, Roman was still experiencing a lot of confusion. Logan worried Patton the most though. The teacher had tried to build a ‘mental wall’ around his thoughts to cut off his emotions, but no one is impenetrable. Patton could feel what leaked between the cracks of his facade.

It was fear. 

Logan was afraid.

And here was Patton, surrounded by the others’ panic, confusion, and fear. 

It was almost painful. He felt everything so much he could swear that it physically hurt.

He needed to focus. 

Think happy thoughts. 

He had to be happy, for Virgil, Roman, and Logan.

He was born to help people feel better, that’s what she told him.

But why was it so hard to help himself?

Patton heard the kettle reaching its peak boil just as he found the last item he was looking for: a loose tea leaf blend of chamomile, lavender, valerian, and rose. 

“Don’t worry kiddos,” Patton called out to the living room, “Dad found his specialty special tea!” 

All four of them could use a cup of tea with a hot crossed pun to wind down.

Virgil smiled from his perch on one of the armrests of their living room couch. Patton’s wholesome humor was cheesy, adorable, and refreshing. 

Seriously, how did someone that soft still exist in this sick sad world? 

“Thanks padre,” Roman called back cheerfully. Unlike Virgil, he was sitting on his section of the couch properly. “We’ll need some tea to spill some tea.”

“Did someone spill tea?!” At hearing about another possible mess to clean up, Logan all but ran into the common area.

“Argh!” Roman clutched his hand to his chest in surprise, “No!”

“I still have the cleaning supplies out, just let me know!”

“It’s a pop culture reference, Lo” the perching emo informed the nerd.

“Rupaul’s Drag Race? Spill the tea? Tell the truth?” Roman asked, but his eyes were only met back with a blank stare from the geek in glasses. “Honestly Logan, what kind of gay are you?”

“Now, now, Roman,” Patton emerged from the kitchen with a tray carrying four full mugs, “let’s just have some nice tea with no shade, m’ok?”

Another Drag Race reference.

“What shade?” Logan had no idea what was going on, “Should I adjust the dimmers?” 

Roman dramatically rolled his hazel eyes and Virgil put up his left hand to hide a growing smirk. 

It almost seemed like everything was back to the way it had been before. 

But Logan, indignant that he didn’t get yet another joke, decided to take control. 

“Virgil,” his serious tone immediately stopping the roommate in question from laughing, “will you explain what happened tonight?”

Well, it was nice while it lasted.

Virgil’s smile dropped, as did his hand from his mouth.

“I mean, I told Roman about our...things…so...”

“I think,” Logan pressed firmly, “you need to tell him about your hand.”

Of course. Virgil knew he’d have to talk about it eventually. Apparently ‘eventually’ was right now. Even though he agreed it was necessary, he really wasn’t comfortable with Logan putting him on the spot like this. Patton felt an extra once of stress from Virgil, like a sharp jolt of static electricity.

“Woah kiddo, it’s alright, take it easy.”

Now Patton felt a brand new wall built quickly by the emo. It slammed down shut with an invisible but forceful thud.

“No no, I’m fine!” Patton assured apologetically. He understood that Virgil was trying the same mental tactic as Logan. It really wasn’t necessary. “You don’t have to-”

“I do Patton,” Virgil said with an edge, “and I think you should sit this one out.”

Extra confusion from Roman. Not only from the way Virgil just spoke to Patton, but also from seemingly only getting snippets of an unspoken conversation. 

“What is happening?” the actor asked.

Annoyance from Logan. Virgil wasn’t just stalling, now he had been verbally abrasive to Patton, and that was unacceptable. 

“You didn’t tell him ALL of our ‘things’, did you?” the tallest roommate asked with more than a hint of condescension.

“It’s not my thing to share!” Virgil exclaimed. 

Jesus, was Logan really that dense?! Couldn’t the teacher see Virgil was just trying to protect their most sensitive friend?!

“Seriously, what is everyone talking about?!” Frustration from Roman now, with traces of indignation. The diva was NOT a fan of being left out!

Patton could feel the tensions rising. Combined, they felt like the teapot, boiling heat beginning to bubble over. Oh no no no. Make it better, make it better, make it better...

“It’s ok” Patton tried his darndest to keep the peace, “a lot’s happened tonight, no one needs to-”

“PATTON STOP IT!”

It was Virgil. He used his big voice.

He swallowed. He wasn’t growing, but he could feel his chords still had their distortion when he gulped. He wanted to make his point, sure, but he hadn’t meant to lose his temper. 

Virgil looked straight into Patton’s round bespectacled eyes. He chose his next words very carefully, and tried his best to whisper with his current resonance.

“I DON’T WANT TO HURT YOU,” Virgil said, still echoey, but not nearly as loud as before.

“You know you can’t, bud,” Patton said quietly, offering a small smile.

“Falsehood!” Logan interjected, “Just because you can’t be physically harmed doesn’t mean others’ emotions can’t overwhelm your mental psyche.”

“Psyche, who’s she?”

The other three all turned to Roman. 

“Just wanted to be included,” the theatre artist shrugged. So not everyone’s a fan of Greek mythology. At least it got their attention. “What’s all this about?”

“Someone has to tell him,” Logan stated pointedly, “but you’re right Virgil, in this matter, you are not the primary source.”

Virgil wanted to ask Logan if he could get it in writing that he was right for once, but he didn’t risk it. He still didn’t trust his voice.

Roman, meanwhile, was starting to put some of the puzzle pieces together. 

“Patton, will you tell me?” he asked gently, “Only if you want to. But I’d like to hear it from you.”

Patton hesitated. He didn’t mind exposing his healing power. The act of giving brought positive feelings out in others and that made him happy. But his other abilities made Patton feel guilty. Like he was taking things that didn’t belong to him. 

One felt intrusive and icky, and he couldn’t turn it off even if he tried. 

The other was...well...more of a curse than a blessing. 

But in this moment, Patton felt nothing but warm concern from his compassionate friend. 

He believed he could trust Roman and tell him the whole truth.

“I have three super powers,” Patton confessed, “I can heal other people. And I’m an empath. I can feel the emotions of what everyone around me feels.”

Roman raised his eyebrows, but nodded acceptingly. It made sense. He knew Patton was a sensitive soul, kind, caring, and loving. Patton would give the cardigan off his back to anyone he thought could use it. He always seemed to know just how to make everyone around him feel great. It was actually a perfectly appropriate power for his little padre.

But that wasn’t everything, and Patton mumbled something else Roman couldn’t make out.

“What was that?”

“I can’t get hurt.” Patton repeated, only a little bit louder, “My body heals itself. From anything.”

Patton felt something wet. Someone was crying.

Logan gingerly passed him a napkin from the tea tray.

Oh. 

It was him. 

He was crying.

Virgil sighed. He felt his human voice had finally settled back in.

“I’m sorry Patton, I shouldn’t have snapped at you,” Virgil apologized, “but,” he continued in earnest, “what I need to tell Roman is pretty heavy stuff. I don’t want to be any more of a burden to you than I already am.”

“You are never a burden, Virgil!” Patton was shocked. 

Was that honestly how Virgil felt? 

A quick empathic check in told him that yes, it was. Virgil genuinely believed he was a burden.

And if Virgil really thought that, then Patton reasoned he must have failed him as a friend. 

He had to fix this. He had to make Virgil see himself the way he saw him!

“You are perfect and special just the way you are!” Hot tears were now streaming down the empath’s face. And Patton could feel everyone around him being distraught at his reaction. 

He had failed even more so. 

Now he couldn’t stop crying. 

“Hey Sweet Pea,” Roman rose from the couch tentatively, “do you need a hug?”

Patton all but threw himself into Roman’s strong arms. His head hit the actor just under his chin, and Roman held his smallest roommate in a firm embrace. He tried to imitate the circle motions he had seen Patton make on Virgil’s hand earlier. There was no magic behind his actions, but Patton recognized that Roman was trying to copy his comfort techniques. 

Unfortunately, Roman’s attempts had the adverse desired effect.

Patton cries turn into sobs.

“We’re okay…” Roman hummed softly. It was a three note leitmotif from the first part of Joanne’s Act One song in Rent. He looked to Virgil and Logan desperately for some backup. 

Both darkly clad men looked awkwardly at a loss. Virgil wanted to help, but he was too afraid to screw things up any more than he already had. Logan was never good with touchy feely moments in general and he recognized that Patton’s meltdown was beyond his level of expertise. 

This just wouldn’t do. Everyone needed to chill out. It was once again up to The Prince to take the lead.

“Say, where is Fredi Walker anyway?” 

“What?” asked Logan, completely perplexed at Roman’s seemingly random question.

“Fredi Walker,” Roman continued, “she played Joanne in the original cast of Rent and then basically vanished. Idina booked Wicked and Frozen but Fredi-”

“Maybe she walked away, torn apart from a cruel cold industry” Virgil added, catching onto what Roman was doing.

“Idina know. Do you?”

“What are you two talking about and in what context?!” Logan exclaimed. He couldn’t stand non sequiturs.

Then he groaned in realization:

Fredi Walker/Walked Away. 

Rent/Torn Apart. 

Wicked/Cruel. 

Frozen/Cold. 

And the worst stretch of them all: 

Idina know/ I don’t know.

Puns. At a time like this. Wow. 

His roommates were completely insufferable.

But then Logan heard Patton’s chuckled response at their exchange. And that made his aorta start functioning an accelerated rate. He didn’t need to understand what helped Patton, he was just glad something did. 

However, Logan did wish he could help as well. He just had no idea how.

“Hey Tall Specs,” Roman said, as if answering his unasked query, “how about you take Small Specs upstairs so Virge and I can finish our conversation?”

The nerd paused, considering the implications. 

Virgil had maintained his size stability, even in the midst of his brief vocal outburst. Logan didn’t understand how Roman seemed to be taking everything revealed to him in such stride, but he was. That eliminated Logan’s potential participation in damage control. At this point, he had to admit that he and Patton were no longer essential contributors to the necessary discourse.

More importantly, Patton clearly needed to be removed from the group so he could reset without any further emotional contamination. Roman now provided that opportunity. 

“I think,” Logan replied evenly, “that is a satisfactory suggestion.”

Now the teacher had an achievable task he could accomplish. Logan wasn’t, and never would be, a hugger, but he did think of a somewhat suitable substitute for his smaller companion. A throw blanket from the back of the couch flew up and wrapped itself around Patton, effectively encasing him like a burrito.

“Patton,” Logan asked gently, “may I escort you to your bedroom?”

Patton audibly exhaled, releasing some internal and external emotional baggage in the process. He nodded, and Logan carefully placed a hand on Patton’s back to lead him upstairs.

Twice in one night, Logan touched someone voluntarily. 

“Will wonders never cease?” thought Roman, shaking his head in amazement.

It was just Roman and Virgil in the living room now.

“So,” Virgil started, “my hand-”


	5. Virgil's Inferno

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Lots of trigger warnings for this chapter:
> 
> -Language  
> -Cutting  
> -Implied Suicide Attempt  
> -Failed American Healthcare System
> 
> Please take care of yourselves. 
> 
> The next chapter is happy, I promise!

“Look Virgil,” Roman interrupted, “I honestly just asked them to leave so you could have some space. I know Logan’s not the best-” Roman paused, trying to think of the most neutral thing he could say, “people person, I guess? But he shouldn’t have pressured you or Patton to reveal anything.”

Well, this was unexpected. 

Virgil felt like the whole night had been gearing up to this moment only to stop dead in its tracks. He wasn’t even sure what he expected, but it certainly wasn’t this. In fact, Roman’s entire behaviour was unexpected. He was taking the news of all three of his roommates having super powers like it was totally chill. 

Virgil stared, giving his roommate a thorough once over. Was he high? Seriously, there was no way a normal person could be this lax about everything that had happened tonight. Roman, however, sat back on the opposite end of the couch, and bore clear hazel eyes straight back into the emo’s dark browns.

“If you just want to sit here in silence,” the actor continued, “maybe drink some tea for a few minutes, and then go back to bed, that’s absolutely fine by me.”

Roman saying “fine” snapped something inside Virgil that broke his dumb streak. “Fine” was an empty word, said only to end conversations. It was a coward’s word out. He hated “fine” with a passion.

“On the subject of honesty,” the gloomier guy quipped, “I’d rather just keep ripping off the band aids and get it over with.”

“Metaphorical band aids?” Roman asked lightly, “Patton seemed pretty thorough in his first aid assistance.”

Virgil just glared, “Now you sound like Logan.”

Roman blanched at that. He didn’t realize how glib his words could be taken, “I’m so sorry-”

“No, Roman,” now it was Virgil’s turn to interrupt, “I want to tell you. If you’re cool with hearing it, I think I need to get it off my chest and,” he sighed, “I don’t know when I’ll have the guts again.”

Roman took in what Virgil said and decided the best course of action was to keep his mouth shut and listen for once. He hoped the nod he gave came off as supportive and encouraging.

It did. Virgil took a deep breath and began to speak before he lost his confidence.

“First off, it’s no secret I’ve got like, 99 problems. But only antidepressants are covered under my new insurance.”

Roman frowned. Virgil’s anxiety was one thing he never kept secret. Roman knew that Virgil going back to school this year meant he switched to his college’s health plan. He also knew that Virgil talked with Logan about budget planning before starting the fall semester. Logan had determined that it was cheaper in the long run to enroll with the school’s provider, as the insurance was partially covered by Virgil’s financial aid. Everything should have been taken care of.

So what happened?

“For whatever reason, my new shrink only gave me meds for 30 days.” Virgil swiped his purple bangs from grazing his eyelashes, “I knew I was running low before school was out, but with finals and work being crazy, I guess my executive dysfunction decided to kick in. Stopping by his office just kept getting pushed to the bottom of my to-do list. I went in on Friday, and the front desk said he was out, but he’d be back the next business day. They told me I could go to the pharmacy and get ‘bridge pills’ to hold me over. Well, I got enough for the weekend, and I took them, and everything was ‘fine’.”

Virgil paused, gritting his teeth as he softly punched his left hand into his right.

“Until I went back on Monday and the office was closed. For the holidays.”

Roman’s eyes widened and his jaw dropped in realization. The staff had meant the next business day for the college. After Christmas and New Years. That was over two weeks worth a wait.

“Roman, I kid you not, I was on the phone with the insurance company, and the on-call RN, and the pharmacy for two hours. I can show you my phone minutes if you don’t believe me, it was insane! The shrink is completely MIA and no one could page him. They wouldn’t refill the meds I’ve been on daily for the last 10 years without a new doctor’s prescription. Not unless it was an emergency that required a visit to the ER.”

Roman’s anger was rising. He felt heat radiating off his chest like his body was ready to fight. This was an outrageous injustice! The people who Virgil trusted to help him basically said he’d have to do something unthinkable to get what he needed. When what he needed in the first place was the preventive to stop that kind of thing from happening.

“So I had a really stupid thought. Roman...”

Virgil had gotten very quiet and mumbly. Roman learned forward to hear him better.

“I used to cut.”

If Virgil was expecting a dramatic reaction, Roman didn’t give him one. Only a small nod. Roman wasn’t surprised with the news, even if it did make him sad. 

Virgil always did wear long sleeves, even during a humid Florida summer. 

“But this,” Virgil continued, “this was an accident...”

...

_ “Hey Kiddo, whatcha up to?” _

_ The razor blade slipped. _

_ He caught it in his palm and instinctively clutched it. _

_ The dam broke and the water surged. _

_ “Gentlemen, it is 2:40 in the morning! Would you please-” _

_ The monster saw their small horrified faces and stopped. _

_ The door slammed and locked. _

...

“...well, half an accident.” Virgil barely whispered. 

Suddenly he smiled and laughed, but Roman didn’t need Patton’s powers to feel that it wasn’t based in any sort of cheer. 

“G-d, I thought you were the one with the monologues, Princey, and here I am going on and on with my sob story”

“Virgil-”

“Don’t-” Virgil put a hand up, “just please don’t look at me with pity. I’m a fuck up and I know I really fucked up here. But I can’t handle anyone else’s empathy or sympathy right now.” he sighed, trying to monitor his inhales and exhales.

“I need to stay clear while I still can.”

Virgil put both his hands over his eyes. He wasn’t crying. He wasn’t hiding. He just needed to block out the world around him. He needed to focus. He needed to breathe.

“Virgil,” he heard Roman say gently, “listen to me and don’t argue yet, alright?”

Virgil nodded behind his hands to acknowledge that he could hear his roommate. 

“I’m going to call my therapist tomorrow and see if he can take new patients.” Roman slid over closer to the darkling perched on the back of the couch, “If he can’t provide a prescription for your medication, then I’m taking you to the ER myself and covering the bill.” 

That got Virgil to take his hands away from his face.

“Dude!”

“No! I will not yield on this, Virgil! Merry Christmas present or whatever.”

Virgil couldn’t believe it. “What about your audition?” 

“Fuck the audition!” Roman proclaimed, moving himself to standing, “I swear on the grave of Carol Channing, we are going to get what you need before tomorrow’s sun sets or I will enact vengeance upon all those who failed you the likes of which they have never seen!”

Virgil took a good hard look at Roman. 

Prince Roman, the diva. Prince Roman, the knight in shining armor. 

But he also saw Roman Prince. 

The man who had just volunteered to take on his baggage. 

Baggage that already weighed down on Virgil like a massive force crushing his chest. 

It was too much for anyone. 

Roman didn’t deserve that. 

He deserved a Disney fairy tale, not a science fiction freak show.

The sizeshifter had to avert his eyes. “Roman, you don’t have to be a hero.”

“I know.” The Prince before him said, “But I want to be your friend.”

Something caught in Virgil’s throat that was not his abnormal distortion. Nonetheless, he found the courage to meet Roman’s gaze again. 

Because it was important for him to know. 

Because it was true. 

“You already are.” 

No matter where their love for each other took them, Virgil and Roman would always share the power of friendship.

But Roman the human conceded that anything related to Virgil’s health was ultimately only Virgil’s choice to make.

“Let me at least call Dr. Picani and you can decide where to go from there.”

And that was a favor that Virgil could handle.

“Deal.”


	6. Try to Keep It Hidden

“I dunno, guys. What if I trip and fall and crush the whole house down?” **  
**

“Have you ever done that before?”

“…No”

“Then why start now?”

Virgil really didn’t like this idea. There were too many things that could go wrong.

What if the lights didn’t work? Or what if they did work but they shorted? What if the power shorted the electricity for the whole house? Or what if the power shorted and the house caught on fire? What if the fire spread into the trees behind their house and whipped through the whole neighborhood? What if it went deep into the forest and killed harmless wildlife? Hadn’t the animals suffered enough by having a housing development plop down on their land? Wasn’t he already responsible for their trouble because he paid rent on a house in said development? They didn’t deserve to die because of him and the beast of capitalism!

“Hello, Earth to Virge, you still with the living?”

He blinked back into the real world and into Roman’s eyes.

He was at eye level with Roman, so that was a good thing.

“Larry and Dot left for Key West this morning and Joan and Talyn don’t come back from New York until after the first of the year. That just leaves the bears in the woods, and I don’t think they’ll tell anybody.”

Virgil looked towards Logan, who was thankfully still taller than him.

“While I agree that Roman’s idea is a little unorthodox, with our neighbors away on their holiday excursions, I don’t believe there are as many obstacles as the ones figuratively running through your head.”

“And I’ll be with you the whole time!” Roman chimed in with a smile.

“See that” Virgil said, “that right there scares me”

“Virgil, I’ve strung Christmas lights up on my parents’ roof since I was twelve. It’s fun!”

“But what if-” Virgil stopped himself. His heart was beating faster, but he didn’t feel his distortion starting. He was back on his medication. Dr Picani was not only willing to take him as a new patient, but thankfully also happened to be in network. It was still taking some time to re-adjust, but Virgil already felt he was getting better at stopping attacks before they happened. 

None of this would have been possible had it not been for Roman, but he had to confess his biggest fear to his roommate.

“What if you fall and I can’t catch you?” 

Cupid’s imaginary arrow seemed to dig even deeper into the Prince’s heart. He had assumed Virgil’s fears were based on possibly being seen, but they were actually centered around Roman’s own safety. 

He didn’t realize how much Virgil cared.

“Hey,” said Roman softly, “I’m a big tough boy. I can tie my own sandals and everything.”

Logan shot a quick glance at the actor. Roman was wearing flip flops (because yes, even in December, in Florida, it was still warm enough to do so) but there were no laces present on his footwear.

“It’s from Hercules, Lo,” said Virgil, knowing the geek was trying to figure out the reference to no avail on his own. 

Speaking of Hercules, the brawniest roommate took it upon himself to once again lift the emo bridal style.

“Virgil,” Roman declared with dramatic fervor, “I swear no harm shall befall me or you now on this O Holy Night!”

“It’s 2:30 in the afternoon,” Logan interjected.

“I was trying to incorporate the holiday! C’mon Logan, where’s your Christmas Spirit?!”

“I’m agnostic,” the more serious man replied simply, “I don’t have any.”

“You can put me down, Roman,” Virgil said. He knew the Prince couldn’t really promise not getting hurt, but the sweetness of the gesture did put him slightly more at ease.

Roman, however, wasn’t ready to let go. He had a mischievous glint in his eye and only held onto his dark damsel more tightly. 

“Make me.” 

Virgil blushed so hard his face turned pink even with his full coverage fair foundation. 

Roman had the smuggest look of satisfaction on his face. 

Why did he always have to win?

Then Virgil got an idea. An awful idea.

Virgil had a wonderful, awful idea.

He he knew just how to take that stupid grin off Roman’s face.

“Oh Princey, Princey, _Princey_ ,” his voice playfully growled as hints of echo reverberation crept in.

Roman felt the man in his arms get heavier. Then heavier. He struggled to support the new weight and tried to readjust his arms, only to realize there was more Virgil in them than before.

Virgil was growing on purpose.

Well, this just wasn’t fair. Roman was not going down without a fight-

The back door swung open on its own accord with a bang.

“OUTSIDE!” yelled Logan. 

He pointed directly at the door and the other two men halted their shenanigans.

“I JUST cleaned the living room this morning! I am NOT rearranging the furniture again!”

Virgil compacted immediately. 

The sudden weight shift made Roman lose his balance and he started to fall backwards. 

In an instant, the now normal sized Virgil landed on his feet and grabbed Roman’s arm, steadying him before he hit the floor.

The Prince’s sunny smile was back, “See? I knew you’d catch me.”

Virgil blushed again, but this time, returned the smile.

Logan sighed, “I swear on the memory of Nicola Tesla, the two of you are going to give me a heart attack.”

“You need a working heart to have a heart attack, Teach” Virgil teased, but not unkindly.

“Oh, Logan has a working heart, Virge”

“Obviously I have a working heart, Virgil” Logan was baffled. Was his roommate not aware of how basic human anatomy functioned?

“Patton’s just working really hard at the toy store right now.” Roman added with the most innocent look he could muster.

A new force slammed the back door shut. Now it was Logan’s turn to blush. 

“I…,” the teacher’s tongue suddenly felt very thick, so he had to clear his throat before continuing, “I fail to see how those two statements correlate.”

“Uh huh,” Roman winked as Virgil covered his mouth to hide his own amusement. Logan was a horrible liar, but it was cute to see him try.

Their fourth roommate was indeed at his job. 

This was always the busiest time of year for Patton. He had the option of taking off either Thanksgiving and Black Friday or Christmas Eve and Boxing Day at Thomas’ Toy Chest. 

This year, he chose Thanksgiving and Black Friday. Larry and Dot hosted a big potluck for the whole neighborhood on Turkey Day and he felt that was a more important event to socially participate in. Black Friday could also be overwhelming for the sweet empath. Too many negative feelings from others to swim through. 

Besides, when Patton worked on Christmas Eve, he got to play Santa at the store, and he absolutely adored feeling the love radiating from the tiny kiddos who still believed. It was the warmth of the season that couldn’t be matched at any other time of year. He felt it was more than enough compensation for the rush.

However, Roman didn’t agree. Patton deserved his own magical moment, just like the ones he provided for the children at work. He wanted to surprise his favorite Hufflepuff.

The plan was simple. Logan was going to pick Patton up from the toy store. It was Roman’s suggestion, selling it as a way to help save money on their area’s rising gas prices. Honestly though, he knew Patton’s ten hour shift leading into the evening would likely make him exhausted. Abilities or not, Roman didn’t like the idea of his little padre driving down dark roads by himself on a major holiday night. 

It also meant Logan and Patton would get some extra alone time. 

While the neurotic nerd chauffeured the peppy prep, Roman and Virgil would string up Christmas lights on their roof just in time for Patton’s return home. 

When Logan had pointed out that they didn’t have a two story ladder and it would be a figurative nightmare to go shopping for one on Christmas Eve, Roman said that they didn’t need one. 

They had Virgil.

“C’mon boys,” said Roman “Let’s. Get. Festive.”

Now that the wheels were set into motion, it was time to get started…


	7. To Stay Here Beside You

As soon as the sun completely set (and Virgil double and triple checked his weather app just to be sure), Roman and Virgil went out through the back door with all the lights for the roof. 

Their yard at present only contained a bare brick patio and Patton’s vintage wheelbarrow, which he had converted into a portable herb garden. The housemates also had folding chairs and a collapsable table they brought out for Roman’s last cast party, but those items were currently living against the back wall of their garage. 

Roman pushed the wheelbarrow to a farther corner against their back fence. He made sure to move it slowly, so as not to upset any of the plants, and mentally noted where the original spot was. He knew Patton had it there so his herbs could best soak up some rays, but for now, he and Virgil needed all the space they could get.

“So, how are we going to do this?” asked Virgil, who was holding all the vines of lighting.

“Well, first we should string them on the roof and once they’re set, you can plug them into the outlet by the back door.” Roman gave the wheelbarrow one last nudge into place, then patted his hands against his jeans to get residual dirt off.

Virgil dropped the lights on the patio to shove his own hands deeply into his hoodie’s front pockets, “And how do you wanna get up there?” 

Roman turned to his roommate with an incredulously look, “You’re going to put me up there, remember?”

“Um, how?”

Roman was flabbergasted, “By doing your cool growing thing, you incredible sulk!”

“Ok, Roman, buddy,” Virgil sighed with exacerbation, “I understand that, but you gotta be more specific.”

“What do you mean?”

Wow. Virgil knew Roman wasn’t actually a clueless moron. He did change out of his flip flops into sneakers before they set out on this operation. But Virgil couldn’t believe Roman hadn’t seemed to give the most volatile component of his plan any thought at all.

“Well, do you want me to just, like, pick you up and plop you down? Do you wanna be on my person as I do it? You’re not climbing me!” Virgil pointed straight at his roommate for emphasis, “I can tell you that right now, but dude, I need to know so I can, like, strategize-”

“Virgil,” Roman gently stopped him, “have you ever done this before?”

“Strung Christmas lights on a roof? No, Roman, I grew up in apartments-”

“Held someone while you’ve been your full self?”

Ah. That was a more complicated question. But he knew the simple answer was not necessarily false, just a lie of omission. 

“No,” he muttered just under his breath, dropping his gaze slightly.

Roman only smiled warmly. “Then friendo, you call the shots here. Do whatever makes you feel the most comfortable.”

Virgil considered his options. 

He tried to imagine what would happen if the roles were reversed. If he was plucked up from the ground in a fist, that would probably feel suffocating. He also didn’t like the idea of Roman looking up at him, craning his neck back as he reached new heights. He had no trouble imagining sheer terror in the eyes of his roommate. Spooking each other out, like their earlier stunt in the living room, was fun, but there were limits, and this was one of them. 

No, this was too serious to take with anything other than caution. 

All things considered, holding onto Roman from the start was probably the safest bet.

The real question was how.

Virgil had been thinking silently for a while, and Roman could almost see the dark clouds brewing behind his brain. Most likely of all the possible ways things could go wrong.

“Oh, but my darling,” Roman didn’t say, “what about all the ways things could go right?”

What he did do was tenderly lift Virgil’s chin with light fingers.

“Ready when you are, Thunder and Frightening,” the Prince made sure his dark damsel heard.

“Ok, that was cute,” Virgil didn’t say aloud, but he did allow himself to release a sideways smirk.

Suddenly, Roman, for the first time since he was a very small child, was hoisted up over shoulders into a fireman carry. 

The patio bricks beneath him started to drift away. 

He looked straight forward and caught a glimpse of Logan’s bedroom window as it zoomed past him. 

Virgil was starting to get as tall as their house. 

Soon, Roman was at eye level with the roof and slid off Virgil’s left shoulder to stand on the shingles.

But Virgil wasn’t done. 

The size shifter dropped to his hands and knelt down on the grass in their yard. He kept growing until his feet reached the far end of their fence, almost hitting Patton’s wheelbarrow. He was finally at level with Roman’s rooftop perspective once he sat back on his heels,

“Woah,” the actor couldn’t help verbalizing. Virgil was an impressive sight to behold.

But Roman refused to take the moment too seriously. Besides, he had a question.

“Hey, how do your clothes grow with you?”

The enormous emo, who was already extremely self conscious, instinctively pulled his hoodie up over his head and let out a growled huff. His breath carried slightly upwards and Roman felt it up on the roof.

“Take it easy Big Bad Lone Wolf, I was just curious!” 

The giant indignantly pulled on the strings of his hood, which made it taut enough to cover his mouth. 

“Oh what, so you’re not going to talk now?”

Virgil’s large eyes make contact with Roman through his magenta bangs, and the actor expected more even indignation. Instead, he saw they were sad.

“Oh,” Roman realized, “you’re not, are you?”

Virgil averted his gaze and that was his answer.

Roman understood the unspoken reasoning. When Virgil’s last anxiety attack caused him to fill his bedroom, his voice was strong enough to send vibrations throughout their house. Roman briefly remembered the swirly hallway painting that fell down from the force of it when Virgil cried out. 

Who knew how powerful that distortion was when he was this size?

“That’s alright, Virge of a Nervous Breakdown,” Roman smiled, “You have your looks, your pretty face, and don’t underestimate the importance of body language” he emphasized with a flourish of his hands.

Virgil just stared back at him blankly.

“The Little Mermaid? Ursula? C’mon Virgil, I know you know that movie!” Roman sighed dramatically, “I really do waste my best material on you.”

He couldn’t prove it, but Roman thought he saw Virgil’s eyes crinkle a bit at his last remark. He would have sworn the giant was hiding a grin.

“So,” Roman asked, genuinely curious, “is this the tallest you can get?”

The patio bricks suddenly looked very interesting as Virgil cast his eyes downward again with a shrug. It wasn’t really an answer.

“Would you-” Roman hesitated. He didn’t want Virgil to feel anymore awkward than he already was. 

“Would you mind sitting up, Virge? I think it’d be the best way to get this taken care of,” he gestured to the Christmas lights on the ground.

Virgil saw the Christmas lights down there too. Right, the whole reason they were doing this in the first place. 

And Roman was probably right. 

He’d have to sit up to be closer in case anything happened. 

Virgil moved forward carefully, until his torso was flush against the back of their house. Roman’s eyes followed his movement upwards. Ugh, this is exactly what he was trying to avoid earlier! Roman’s tiny head was now at level with his sternum. In comparison, if Virgil was at his normal height, Roman would have been roughly the size of an action figure from a Happy Meal.

This was too weird.

Suddenly, the giant felt a small warm weight on his left side.

It was Roman, leaning forward onto his enlarged chest.

“I knew it,” the Prince said, “You have a heart too. I can hear it loud and clear.”

A fat ugly tear somehow escaped Virgil’s eye and he didn’t want to get Roman wet. That dude could be such a drama queen about his clothes. Virgil knew he would never hear the end of it. 

He cupped his hands around his roommate in a makeshift embrace, making sure his fingers covered the smaller man’s head from the saltwater rain. His stupid heartbeat got faster and louder.

“I love you too.” Roman whispered, not sure himself if he was ready for Virgil to hear him or not.

“Now c’mon, Purple Riding Hoodie!” He said louder, playful punching his crush’s pec for emphasis, “Let’s make this Christmas Eve one that our little Pat the Bunny will remember forever!”

Looking back, Roman thought that he should have chosen those last words more carefully. 

Maybe then, no one would have gotten hurt.


	8. Logan's Confession

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trigger Warnings:  
> -Discussion of Christianity from an Agnostic point of view  
> -Speaking about 'outing'  
> -Accidental touching

Logan had on the Charlie Brown Christmas Album when he picked up Patton at Thomas’ Toy Chest. While he was not a fan of holiday music himself, he knew Patton enjoyed listening to it at this time of year. This particular CD was thankfully not too cloying or schmaltzy. He actually found the jazz stylings of Vince Guaraldi quite pleasant and soothing. The low-key production values of the soundtrack were also a nice anecdote to the overly polished and saccharine songs that were usually blaring on the radio in December. He hoped Patton would take some comfort in his effort.

He was not disappointed.

“Oh my goodness, this is one of my favorites!” his roommate exclaimed upon entering the car.

“Is it really?” Logan could hardly believe his luck.

“Of course! The whole Peanuts gang getting together to give that sad little tree some love. I watch this movie every year!”

‘Linus and Lucy’ started playing and Patton’s cheer only increased.

“Oh, can you turn it up, Logan? This one’s the best!”

Logan nodded, allowing himself to smile as the familiar jaunty tune amplified in volume. Patton started to sing along to the melody line with “ba da dum dums” and it was almost too precious to process. 

“I didn’t know you had this, kiddo!”

“I must confess, it’s on loan from Roman,” Logan admitted, “That man owns collections of animation music I wasn’t even aware were available for the public”

“Well this is just such a delightful treat to 'toon' into,” Patton grinned.

The teacher couldn’t help letting out a small groan at the pun. He supposed he figuratively walked right into that one. 

“Aw c’mon Logan, where’s your Christmas spirit?”

For the second time that day, Logan was asked the same inane question. Not that Patton knew that, but Logan couldn’t help being frustrated.

“Apart from the fact that Christmas has become a crass commercial travesty rather than a reflection of pious values, researchers also believe that the real Jesus of Nazareth was most likely born in June. The fact that Christians even celebrate the birth of their lord and savior in the winter today is due to an ancient propaganda campaign of converting unwilling participants by adapting their holidays to fit a political climate of religious repression.”

The piano continued playing through the speakers, but the car had gone silent.

Logan sighed, “My apologies Patton, I know you enjoy seasonal festivities. While all that is historical accurate, I’m aware that it can come off as disrespectful to religious practitioners. I did not mean to offend you personally.”

“Jesus was born in June?”

Wait, was Patton actually interested? 

Logan had hit a stop light and allowed himself a brief sideways glance to the front passenger side. He did not have Patton’s empathic abilities, but his roommate appeared to be genuinely intrigued. In any case, he had asked a question, which implied he wanted to continue the conversation. 

It would be rude not to answer, right?

“Well, admittedly, it’s still a hypothesis,” Logan started gingerly, “but there is some speculation that the Star of Bethlehem mentioned in the Bible may have been a rare phenomenon of Venus and Jupiter aligning in the sky to appear as one massive star to witnesses below.”

“Really?!” 

Another question, and this one implied the need to cite for accuracy.

And Logan always had his sources ready.

“Astronomer Dave Reneke determined that an event such as this occurred on June 17th in the year 2 Before Common Era. Also,” he proceeded, “if we simply go off textual analysis, it would have been very unlikely for shepherds to watch their flocks at night in the winter, as the climate in that part of the world can be brutal. The sheep should have been sheltered in barns instead of roaming the fields.” 

The light changed to green and it was the nerd who was really revved up now. “Furthermore, the census that required Mary and Joseph to return to their homeland in the first place wouldn’t have been taken during the end of December. It would have been too treacherous and costly to have government officials travel in conditions that cold.”

“Logan,” Patton asked in awe, “are you sure one of your powers isn’t being the smartest man in the world?”

The teacher was thankful it was dark out on the road. Patton could probably feel his embarrassment, but he’d be damned if his crush would see him blushing.

“I assure you Patton, the knowledge I have acquired is achievable by any lay person who wishes to seek it. I’ve always been fascinated by astronomy and studying literature is-”

He paused. He didn’t know if he had this right, but the stakes were low enough to try.

“Like Crofters?” his voice up-ticked, not sure if this was how it was done.

But Patton’s eyes and smile widened “Because it’s your jam?!”

“Yes!” Logan’s expression nearly matched Patton’s.

“You made a Dad joke!” Patton radiated with pride and sang his support “Logan did a really good job!”

At that though, Logan felt a tightness in his chest. This was a feeling he could identify. 

It was guilt. 

He felt unworthy of the accolades Patton was bestowing upon him. It wasn’t fair to Patton for him to accept praise he didn’t deserve. He at least had to atone for his sins of the past.

“Patton, I owe you an apology,” he said, determined to get this settled.

“What for, buddy?” Patton was shocked. He felt his roommate’s mood shift on a dime and couldn’t understand why. “I’m not offended,” he assured him, “Everyone should be allowed to believe whatever they want as long as they don’t hurt themselves or other people.”

Logan shook his head, but kept his eyes firmly on the road ahead of them, “The night Roman learned the truth about what the three of us are-”

“Oh no, Logan, if anyone should be apologizing, it’s me! I don’t know why I still instinctively move away from flying objects.”

That confused Logan. What did the last statement have to do with the first?

“What are you talking about?”

“Well if I hadn’t tried to dodge the painting, you never would have had to use your power to stop it from falling. I should have just let it fall. It’s so silly,” Patton let out a light laugh, “It’s not like it would have hurt me.”

Logan was not the best at reading emotions, but he had lived with Patton long enough to know that the laugh he gave was an attempt to mollify the situation rather than genuine humor. It was unnecessary for Patton to take on blame that wasn’t his.

“Patton, you have nothing to apologize for.”

“Kiddo, I would have been fine and instead I made you out yourself to Roman.”

“But that’s just it!” Logan felt his voice raise, but he couldn’t help it, “I’m the one who forced you to out yourself to Roman! You trusted me with your secrets, and you should be allowed to maintain your privacy for any reason you so choose. I’m the one who insisted that you share information you weren’t willing or ready to share and it-”

He stopped. Logan realized he’d nearly been shouting. The next part he forced himself to say as calmly as he could, lest he’d make the mistake that lead to this in the first place.

“I made you cry.”

“Logan,” Patton’s heart nearly burst, “I don’t blame you at all! I know you were afraid. I felt your fear. And when people are scared, sometimes they do or say things they regret.”

Well, Logan certainly regretted outing his roommate. It had been at the forefront of his mind since the day after it happened. And he still didn’t believe he could truly make it up to the man he cared so much about. “Can you ever forgive me?”

Patton stopped himself from instinctively reaching out. Logan told him when they first met he didn’t like being touched, but the longer they lived together, the taller roommate admitted it was more complicated than that. 

Skin to skin contact from a living creature was physically painful to the telekinetic man. It felt like a direct attack on his nervous system. Even touching people and animals through cloth was uncomfortable at best. It burned. Patton’s own gift made him sensitive to touching people anyway, but he made sure NEVER to touch Logan.

Instead, once they hit the next red light, the empath waved so he could make sure Logan was looking right at him. Glasses to glasses. Small specs to tall specs, as Roman would say. 

“You’re all right by me, bud,” Patton said, “I just wish you’d forgive yourself.”

The roommates who had the upstairs bedrooms neared the turn into their neighborhood that would soon lead them to their cul de sac.

___________________

As the two downstairs roommates were finishing up the lights, Roman could make out Logan’s car from his vantage point on the roof.

“They’re coming!” he shouted with excitement, “Put me down!”

“ _Please_?” Virgil asked incredulously. His voice was muffled by his tied hoodie’s fabric covering his mouth, but it was clear enough to be understood.

“Virgil, we don’t have time for this!” Roman exclaimed.

The giant before him just shrugged with a gleam in his eyes. 

“Ugh!” the thespian groaned, “Dark Lord of All, may I PLEASE be set upon the ground?”

At that, Roman was swiftly scooped up by two large hands for safety.

“Don’t touch my butt!” 

Oh shit! Virgil really hadn’t meant to, his damn palms just covered a lot of surface area. He quickly placed Roman on the patio, shoving his unintentionally offending mitts deep into his pockets.

“ _Sorry_ ,” he mumbled.

“My behind might be bodacious,” his roommate said saucily, “but take a boy to dinner first.”

Virgil rolled his big brown eyes. At least Roman couldn’t see his beat red face.

“Plug it in,” Roman said, pointing to the light chord’s outlet, “I gotta get my uke, I’ll meet you on the other side.” Without waiting for a response, the director of the night’s production ran into their house.

Virgil shook his head as he plugged in the lights. The only food that diva was ever going to be getting from him was a microwaved hot pocket. It wasn’t his fault that baby got back.

Did it just get hotter? Was this climate change, or just Florida being Florida, because it definitely wasn’t…Nope! Virgil shook his head again, this time trying to block out his own stupid thoughts. Better get back to normal and make sure Roman didn’t mess anything up.

The trouble was, he couldn’t. 

He tried again. 

He opened his eyes and was still sitting at level with the roof.

Virgil was stuck.

This was bad. 

This was real bad…


	9. But it's December the 24th...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one hurt me to write. Trigger warnings in the end notes. They do contain spoilers, but please take care of yourselves.

Logan and Patton’s conversation hung in the air as the last song on the soundtrack finished playing. They had both said their piece, but were now unsure of how to proceed. It was clear to the tall nerd and the small prep that they each cared deeply for the other, but how much and to what extent was a mystery to them both. What they really needed was a distraction, and the timing of one couldn’t have been planned any better.

The car turned the corner just as the lights turned on. Patton gasped at the sight and even Logan was impressed. There’s an expression of something stunning “looking like Christmas morning”, but Logan was sure the simple modification of “looking like Christmas Eve” was a sufficient and more accurate description of the showy display. It was definitely extravagant, but somehow still tasteful. Roman really did have a knack for aesthetics. 

Logan parked his car in the driveway. Once the doors were unlocked, Patton practically jumped out of the passenger side door. He ran into the middle of the street and looked up at their home in amazement. Their two story house looked like it was dripping in stars. The roof twinkled as vines of wiring cascaded downwards, like sparkling comets. 

At that moment, Patton didn’t think he had ever seen anything so beautiful.

Logan also got out of the car, but reservedly stayed by the driver’s door once he closed it. The way the lights were bouncing off Patton’s auburn hair made him look like a Raphaelian angel. When they twinkled just so, the reflection hit the small man’s glasses in a way that resembled constellation patterns shining across his eyes. 

At that moment, Logan didn’t think he had ever seen anything so beautiful.

It could have been a minute or it could have been an hour. Regardless, Roman somehow felt the perfect timing once again to emerge from the front door with his ukulele in hand.

“The sun is shining, the grass is green

The orange and palm trees sway”

He strummed softly, hoping the chords he played fit well enough. He couldn’t find the tabs of the original intro in time, so this part he had to improvise.

“There's never been such a day

In F-L-O-R-I-D-A”

(Okay, so Irving Berlin’s real lyrics were about Beverly Hills, but Roman took creative licensing to suit his present needs.)

“But it's December the twenty-fourth…”

(At least that part was true!)

“And I am longing to be up North...”

Now the actual chords he found online were coming up. There were only three, but he knew this was a case where less was more. “Slow and steady” Roman thought to himself, as he strummed the main refrain’s A chord.

“I’m dreaming of a (D chord) White (E7) Christmas…”

Patton squealed, which made Logan smile instantaneously. His kind friend was clearly happy and everything seemed to be going very well.

Roman continued to breezily play through the entire song, ending on the same A major chord he started with. When he was finished, he turned around with a grin, expecting to see his favorite nightmare before christmas. 

Virgil, however, was nowhere to be seen.

That was odd. Roman thought he was right behind him.

Before Roman could call out to him, he heard enthusiastic cheering from his audience of two. Well, enthusiasm from Patton at least, but Logan was politely granting Roman applause stronger than a golf clap, and that was saying something. 

“Roman!” Patton exclaimed, “That was  _ snow _ wonderful!”

“Well it’s  _ snow secret Santa _ ’s been working hard today,” Roman beamed at his own wordplay, “we just wanted to surprise you, Patton Claus!”

“Patton,” Logan said softly, “if you would direct your attention to the rooftop proper, you’ll find another surprise awaits you.”

Patton’s eyes somehow became even wider and rounder. Another surprise? From Logan?? How could this night possibly get any more special?!

Patton took a few steps back into the dead center of the street and looked back up at the roof.

Roman saw Logan’s gaze behind his square glasses intensify, and allowed his own eye line to follow up to where their tallest roommate was focused.

The lights briefly went out before flashing in a grid pattern. Logan, who had dealt with people asking him about his lack of Christmas Spirit all day, was about to show everyone exactly where it was.

Sequence one:

MERRY…

Sequence two:

XMAS...

Sequence three (and this one was spelled out letter by letter)

P-A-T-T-O-N

The owner of the written name screamed joyously, even louder than his previous squeal.

Unfortunately, it was his screaming that blocked out the sound of a new pair of tires racing around the corner.

It was strange, Roman thought later. Everything next felt like it somehow happened both in slow motion and faster than a millisecond.

The car hit Patton and he could swear he heard bones breaking. 

Logan’s body locked into stunned stillness-

-until Patton’s skull threatened to meet the pavement. 

Then Logan’s left arm shot out on electromagnetic instinct. 

Patton’s body froze and floated just barely an inch above the sidewalk he was flung towards. 

If Logan had been even a fraction later, Roman knew there would have been blood.

The rest of his physical body finally awake, Logan ran over to the beloved man he shared a home with. He dropped to his knees as soon as he reached him. Later, Logan couldn’t logically give a good explanation for his sense of urgency. He knew Patton could heal himself, they had literally just talked about it moments before. 

But the person who made his heart ache was the victim of a heinous crime. Logic be damned. 

“Patton, stay calm,” he instructed in full teacher authoritarian mode, no margin for error, “you’re going to be ok.” 

Logan released the invisible force that was holding Patton aloft and allowed his roommate’s head to fall gently into his lap.

“You’re going to be ok,” he repeated. Redundancy be damned as well.

Patton would never have done what he did next under normal circumstances, but in his trauma, he forgot.

He reached out behind him and grabbed Logan’s bare left forearm.

A shot of electricity radiated through each individual nerve in Logan’s system. Everything burned.

He screamed in agony.

Roman helplessly watched the scene unfold in front of him. He fumed as he furiously turned to get a good look at the criminal car in their street. 

But his hot anger was replaced by an ice cold sweat. 

It was the same car that delivered the Christmas lights from his parents’ house that morning. 

Which meant the driver could only be one, very specific person...

Suddenly, a massive shadow covered the entire cul de sac in darkness like an oncoming storm.

Roman knew that stormcloud. He knew him very well.

Virgil was even larger than he was before. He effortlessly straddled their house and with one hand grabbed the car that hit Patton. He lifted it high, high, high into the air. His booming voice reverberated through the night air without mercy.

“GIVE ME ONE GOOD REASON WHY I SHOULDN’T SQUASH YOU LIKE A BUG.”

The car, as if in response, inexplicably and inappropriately honked out “shave and a haircut”.

The giant was not assumed. He started squeezing the car and the sound of crushing metal could be heard loud and clear to the tiny humans below.

Somehow, over the din of it all, he heard a small voice shout up to him.

“VIRGIL, STOP! PLEASE!!!”

It was Roman.

The giant obeyed the requesting cry immediately and looked down below. Even from this height, he clearly saw what he never, ever wanted to see in the face of the man he loved.

Terror. Sheer terror. 

Because of him.

Roman was horrified, but he held his ground. He had to. 

It was a matter of life and death for the only person in the whole world he would die for.

“That’s my twin!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Triggers:  
> -Intentional harm  
> -Car crash  
> -Body horror  
> -Nonconsensual touching  
> -Unsympathetic Remus


	10. These Things You're Thinking

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trigger Warnings:  
> -Self Harm Mention  
> -PTSD  
> -Nonconsensual touching  
> -Vulgarity

In a confirmation of Roman’s outburst, the handheld car honked back “Two bits”.

The driver’s window rolled down and a voice called out that was far too cheerful given the precarious situation it was in. 

“Merry Bitchmas, Brother!”

The voice then directed itself towards the giant holding its casing.

“Does this elevator go down or do I have to give myself a hand out?”

Without warning, the car slammed into reverse in an attempt to drive out of Virgil’s grasp.

However, Virgil was able to quickly grab the car in both hands before it fell. He swiftly crouched down to place it back on the street. 

“DO YOU HAVE A DEATH WISH?!”

Virgil’s question was met back with nearly maniacal laughter.

“You’re one to talk, Virgil Sanderson, I know all about that scar on your left wrist.”

Hearing one of his darkest secrets exposed had a near immediate effect on the shapeshifter. Something inside him clicked, and Virgil was finally able to compact back to 5’10”.

He did so, and now the car that was just in his hands blinded its headlights in front of his face. There was one last vroom from the engine, and then the ignition turned off. 

A man who was also 5’10” emerged exuberantly from the car. Save the dirt squirrel mustache, and the purposeful streak of a single white highlight in his hair, he looked almost exactly like Roman. 

Just not with the ugly green inappropriately graphic Christmas sweater knock off. Roman wouldn’t be caught dead wearing green. 

“Remus, what the actual hell?!” Roman shouted at the stranger in disbelief.

“What? Mom made you a casserole. And I wanted to meet your roommates.”

All three of Roman’s said roommates were visibly worse for wear. 

Patton’s head was still resting in Logan’s lap, his left arm now lay strewn and abandoned on the ground. 

Logan was cradling his own left forearm and shaking, although he was desperately trying not to. He saw that Patton’s eyes were glazed over and could only guess what was going on behind them.

Virgil, meanwhile, looked like a frozen deer who was two seconds away from becoming roadkill. But he took in Remus’ words and jumped to a very plausible conclusion: Roman must have told his brother about their powers.

“Simmer down, Ginormico,” Remus said, seemingly answering Virgil’s unspoken thoughts, “it’s not his fault. He’s just no match for me.”

“What are you talking about?” asked Logan with a carefully even voice. His tone was ice cold, but he didn’t so much as blink in Remus’ direction. He continued to keep his bespectacled eyes laser focused on Patton. If he hadn’t known any better, he would have sworn his small friend had gone comatose.

“Well Scary Carrie White,” the mustachioed man smiled, “you may be able to make things fly with your mind, but you’re not the only one with cranial command.”

“Remus, you’re being an absolute asshat,” Roman glowered, but didn’t actually say aloud. He didn’t have to. He knew his twin could hear him regardless.

And he did. 

Remus turned to his brother with the stunning realization, “Ohhhh, you didn’t tell them your secret!” It wasn’t a question. 

“RoRo, I’m hurt, I thought you loved me.”

“Just because I love you, doesn’t mean you don’t deserve to be punched in the face,” Roman did say loud and clear. He wanted the group around him and his brother to know he did not approve of Remus’ disgusting behavior.

“Roman?” Logan inquired, “do you also have-”

“Nope, but I do!” Remus said, gleefully interpreting him, “Gentlemen, hold your applause: I can read minds!”

“Yea fucking right,” Virgil scoffed, “What number am I thinking of?”

“Who cares about numbers? I want to know what you thought of Roman’s ass after you copped a feel.”

Virgil gasped and covered his mouth. Though it felt like forever, in reality, that accident had happened only moments ago, right before he turned the Christmas lights on. 

There’s no way Remus could have known that.

“Aha,” Remus read Virgil’s brain like it was an open book “firm and juicy like a peach?” he wiggled his eyebrows mockingly.

“Ok that’s enough,” Roman said, shoving his brother none too gently, “Remus, you owe everyone an apology!”

“What for, Drama Queen?” Remus pouted, rubbing his arm from Roman’s force, “No one’s hurt. Patton Hart over there doesn’t even have a scratch on him.”

“There is a possibility you could be horribly wrong,” Logan said, just barely keeping his cool under a collected demeanor. Patton’s condition had not changed.

“Naw, I saw Roman’s recent memories this morning:

I can’t get hurt. My body heals itself. From anything.

Isn’t that right, ‘Sweet Pea’?”

Patton said nothing.

“Oh right, Logan Berry can’t help you up because he’s touchy with touching.”

Without warning, and before anyone could object, Remus scooped Patton up off Logan’s lap and set him on his feet. Miraculously, Patton stayed standing, but his eyes were still glassy behind his round frames. 

Logan jumped to his feet in a seething rage, his collected cool now completely gone. “Don’t you know it’s dangerous to move a body when it’s in this condition?!”

“Why’re you gagging, Poindexter? He’s completely unharmed.”

“You call that unharmed?!” Virgil nearly shrieked, his own silent streak dissipating, “He’s shell shocked, you sick psycho!” 

“Temper temper, _Virgin_!” Remus huffed, placing a hand over his chest in mock outrage. He almost sounded like Roman’s offended princely sounds, save for nearly spitting out the play on his opponent’s moniker. 

Remus’ next statement, however, was said with deadly seriousness. “I could absolutely charge you for vehicular damage. That would really set you back on your student loans, wouldn’t it?”

“Ok, guys,” Roman pleaded desperately, “we all need to calm all the way down!”

In the midst of it all, Patton was starting to come to. However, his thoughts were miles away. All he could hear was Logan screaming.

“I touched you and it hurt you.” 

The group around the empath suddenly stopped speaking.

“He means you, Logic,” Remus said bluntly after a pause.

Logan intuited that nickname belonged to him.

“Patton, they were involuntary reactions on both our parts,” the tall nerd softened his voice to ease the small one’s concerns, “I assure you, I am unscathed.”

Patton could tell he meant it, but that left more questions than answers. The empath’s healing touch was the one power he had that he wasn’t ashamed of. But it didn’t work on Logan. Why?

“Why did it hurt you?” he asked, “I was born to help people.”

“Your Aunt Patty doesn’t know everything, kiddo.”

“Remus, shut up!” Roman cried with exacerbation. His brother never knew when to turn it down and just stop already! 

But Patton had one more question. And this one was exclusively for the man who hit him with a car: “Why did you do it?”

Remus looked confused, “Just wanted to see what would happen. It’s not like you can get hurt,” he answered, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

Patton touched base with him. There was no malice, no evil plan, not even deceit. Only simple curiosity. 

And that made Patton feel an emotion he couldn’t handle.

Before that feeling came to a roaring bubble, Patton turned from the crowd of his friends and offender and ran as fast as he could.

_____________

Patton didn’t stop running until he was finally out of breath. He found himself deep into the woods, half panting and half sobbing. His legs didn’t hurt (they never did), but something in his body eventually told him to stop. 

Logan was correct, Patton’s feelings could overwhelm him the way normal people felt pain. His emotions finally caught up to him and he collapsed to the ground against the roots of a tree. His head full of old questions. 

Why?

Why was he born like this?

Why couldn’t he help other people where it really mattered?

Why were people so cruel?

Why did someone want to hurt him?

Why couldn’t he be-?

He stopped his train of thought. He knew the word. The self inflicted forbidden word. 

Patton would never let himself feel that way.

He grabbed onto his knees and swayed back and forth. He was away from other people’s feelings now, but the weight of his own was crushing him to lay down against the earth.

Between his self-soothing attempts at rocking and the trap that was his own mind, Patton didn’t sense that someone had followed him here.


	11. Into the Woods

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Witches can be right, giants can be good  
> You decide what’s right, you decide what’s good…
> 
> Someone is on your side  
> No one is alone”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trigger Warnings:
> 
> -Unintentional Self Harm  
> -Body Horror  
> -Past Self Harm Mention  
> -Language

Virgil was the one who ran after Patton. Roman and Logan tried to join him, but the tone of his voice warned them against it. Roman had brought this mess into their home and Logan was useless with feelings. That may have been a harsh thing to say, but it was necessary to get the brainiest roommate to back down. Besides, Virgil could travel the most ground in the shortest amount of time. He knew the woods better than the other three combined. **  
**

Patton’s trail wasn’t difficult to find, but he did get farther than Virgil anticipated. He found his friend lying on the ground in the fetal position, not unlike the one Virgil himself was in just a few days ago. Patton was the shortest of the housemates already, but Virgil had never seen him look so small. It was as though his essence had drained out of him, leaving only a sad shell of a man behind. Not wanting to scare him, Virgil carefully crouched down nearby.

“Pat?” Virgil said tentatively, “C’mon buddy, you gotta get up. You’re gonna mess up your cardigan.”

“Who cares,” Patton responded glumly. It wasn’t a question.

“You do,” Virgil insisted, “it’s your favorite. Lo got it for you.”

The mention of Logan made Patton pause. Slowly, he brought himself to sit against the trunk of the tree. He took a glance at the side of his cardigan that had been touching the soil. Sure enough, it was filthy.

Virgil could tell from the small tremble of his lip that Patton was about two seconds away from sobbing again.

“Don’t worry about it, Pat,” he tried to sound as reassuring as possible, “We’ll clean it later.”

Patton sniffled, but thankfully didn’t cry. However, he did shiver. A cold breeze seemed to pass through him. Whether it was an actual drop in temperature or simply his frayed nerves, neither roommate could say. 

“Wanna trade?” Virgil asked, pointing to his own outerwear.

Patton’s eyes widened. That patchwork hoodie was Virgil’s absolute favorite piece of clothing. He shouldn’t, he couldn’t, but he involuntarily nodded.

Virgil gingerly took the soiled sweater and wrapped the sleeves around his own waist. He then removed his prized possession and draped the beloved second skin over his little friend. On Patton, it was oversized, and definitely out of the small prep’s normal style. Virgil couldn’t help but crack a smirk at the sight. 

“It’s so soft,” Patton quietly exclaimed in awe, carefully placing the purple hood over his head.

“Why do you think I wear it so much?” Virgil replied with a cheeky wink. Roman was obviously rubbing off on him a bit, but what do you expect when you share a bathroom with that diva.

Patton let out a hint of a smile, but it disappeared as quickly as it came. He had tried to empathically check in on his roommate, but found that he couldn’t.

“Are you alright, Virgil?”

“Funny, I was gonna ask you the same thing. Sure you’re not a mind reader too?”

Patton shook his head, “No, I can’t feel people as clearly when I’m like this. Just trying to touch base.”

Virgil frowned slightly, “When you’re like what, Patton?”

Patton hesitated. He feared that saying the word would be like an act of summoning. But more than Roman, and even more than Logan, Patton believed, without a shadow of a doubt, he could trust Virgil. 

“Angry.” 

The word felt heavy in his throat, but Virgil didn’t so much as blink.

“What are you angry about, Patton?”

The empath felt hot liquid threatening to emerge from behind his frames again. 

“I’m angry that Remus tried to hurt me on purpose.”

Once admitted, he let the tears drop and fog up his glasses. He couldn’t look Virgil in the eye. He was too ashamed.

“Fuck yeah you’re angry, it was a super shitty thing for him to do!”

Patton gasped, at both the language his friend had used and the content it covered, “Oh no, Virgil, anger is bad!” 

“Patton, you’re allowed to be angry! At the end of the day, you’re still human!”

Patton was stunned. 

No one had ever said that to him before. 

It shook him to the core of his morality. 

The old questions disappeared and a brand new question came to the forefront of his mind: Why did he need permission to express his own feelings in the first place?

“You’re right. I’m angry. And I have the right to be angry.”

“Damn straight! Even though you’re gay.” Virgil added.

“I can be gay and angry.”

“Hell yeah you can!”

“I can be angry. I am angry!” Patton was actually laughing at the realization. The weight he had felt was gone like magic. 

“I’m angry!” Patton declared with joy, and he punched the trunk of the tree behind him for emphasis.

Unfortunately, snaps, cracks, and pops were heard when his hand met the wood. 

“Uh, Pat?” 

Patton turned back to his roommate sheepishly. The tree itself was not the worse for wear, but his hand dangled off his wrist at an odd angle.

“Wow,” was all Virgil could say in a shocked response. Body horror was definitely not his kink.

“Hold on,” Patton sighed as he effortlessly readjusted the appendage to its rightful position. He then wiggled his fingers, and it was like nothing had happened at all.

“I think I’m done being angry,” Patton said meekly. It was true though. He was now starting to feel traces of Virgil’s concern. That was as clear a sign as anything that his own anger was fading.

Virgil took a moment to compose himself. Not only from what he just witnessed, but for what he was about to say.

“It really is ok to be angry sometimes, Pat. It’s all about how you regulate it. But take it from the guy who knows, hurting yourself isn’t the way to go.”

The empath let his darkly clad friend’s words soak in. The powers Patton possessed had limits. He now knew with certainty he couldn’t touch Logan. He already knew he couldn’t heal scars. He also couldn’t heal anything related to the intangibility of mental health. It especially broke his heart that Virgil’s past was so grim. This really was something he couldn’t fix.

“I’m so sorry I can’t help you.” 

“You do though, bud,” Virgil disagreed gently, “More than you know. And more than I can say.”

Virgil’s own rawer emotions were starting to surface, but he refused to let himself cry. Not now. Not when Patton needed him to be the strong one.

“Hey, you know what would help me?” Virgil asked, “A patented Patton hug.”

In spite of the tonal shift, Patton could feel he was being honest. 

The prep jumped into the emo’s arms with a force that knocked Virgil backwards out of his crouch and onto his butt. 

“I’m going to give the biggest hug in the world to my bestest buddy!” the little empath exclaimed.

“Not if I do it FIRST,” the size shifter’s voice echoed back.

Virgil was still seated on the ground, but he started growing large enough to fill up their forest clearing. As he expanded, Patton felt the thumping of Virgil’s heart resonate around him. The empath snuggled deeper into the supported embrace, instinctively grabbing onto the giant’s shirt like a toddler. He was warm and safe in his best friend’s arms.

“ _You’re gonna be ok, Dad Guy_ ,” Virgil’s voice still had reverb, but he found he was somehow able to speak softly to his tiny roommate.

“You too, kiddo.” said Patton with confidence. He had regained his parental energy from the strength Virgil surrounded him with. 

Whether the giant knew it or not, the feeling he was projecting, the feeling of protection, was exactly what Patton needed. He finally felt like himself again.

“Now let’s go home,” the empath said. “It’s almost Christmas Day.”


	12. Big Mood

“Well, I feel like this is partially my fault.” the actor fretted. To his dismay, he was met back with no argument from his roommate.

“You can correct me if I’m wrong.”

“Believe me, Roman,” Logan pushed his square frames back up his nose out of habit, “if I had thought you uttered a falsehood, I would have told you so.”

It had been just under an hour since Patton had run off and Virgil had gone after him. After waiting outside for an awkward amount of time, Remus asked if he could use the bathroom, and his twin begrudgingly allowed it. The mind reader was still chillin’ in there, which was fine, because Roman didn’t want to look at him.

Logan was able to use his telekinesis to repair the dents Virgil had caused in their unexpected guest’s car. They were mostly shallow and there was thankfully no structural damage, at least nothing that would affect the car’s functioning mechanisms. It was perfectly safe to drive and looked the same as when it arrived.

However, Roman was deep in thought, unable to shake the image of the giant holding his brother’s life in his hand, and the floor of the living room had his full attention.

“Virgil wouldn’t have killed Remus.”

Roman figured he must be losing touch with his game face if even Logan could seemingly read his thoughts so clearly. Still, he didn’t look up.

“You know that for a fact?” he responded, with a rougher edge to his tone than usual.

“No,” the teacher admitted, “but I know Virgil, and I believe his choice of words was deliberate.”

Oh, Roman remembered exactly what Virgil’s all encompassing booming voice had said.

“He said he’d squash him like a bug.”

“Precisely.”

That made Roman look up. He knew Logan could be blunt, but this was just cold. Logan, for his part, recognized he struck a figurative nerve and attempted to speak more gently.

“Roman,” Logan continued with measured care, “I have literally never seen Virgil harm so much as a fly. Not even spiders for Patton. He puts them in cups and takes them outside. Virgil is very protective of those he cares for, but, to use an idiomatic expression, his bark is worse than his bite. I cannot confirm it for a fact, but the evidence presented is greater than a mere hypothesis. It is a fully realized theory that can neither be proven nor disproven.”

The teacher took a moment to pause. He knew he could sometimes go on and on when he was passionate about a topic, and this was too important to be said with anything but the utmost clarity.

“My apologies Roman. Perhaps it is not accurate to say that I know Virgil, rather that I trust Virgil.”

“Lo,” Roman sighed, “I honestly don’t know if I can-”

“You can,” a third voice replied, causing both men to turn. Remus was standing behind them in the hallway munching on…something.

“Berry Boy is right. Your crush was mad, but he wasn’t gonna squish me”

“Are you eating deodorant?!” asked Roman with exacerbation. It wouldn’t be the first time, but this certainly wasn’t a good time.

“Don’t get your tits in a twist, twinsie,” Remus replied, “It’s yours, not his,” as if that exonerated him from this particular eccentricity.

Logan’s cell phone lit up with a text alert as the men spoke. He was relieved when he saw the name of the sender, “ _Virgil Sanderson_ ”.  
< _Have Hart  
On our way home_>

_____________________

Patton walked with a renewed pep in his step. He insisted on returning his friend’s outerwear, and now had his own cardigan back. It really was too dirty to wear properly, so the prep wore the sleeves tied loosely over his shoulders. Virgil couldn’t help but think his roommate had made it look like a cape. A dirty cape, one that definitely needed to be tossed in the laundry as soon as possible, but a cape nonetheless.

Virgil had shrunk back down to send his text to Logan, but as he and Patton passed through the last line of trees before their cul de sac, the size shifter wished he could make himself even smaller than his typical 5’10”.

“Patton, I don’t know if I can face him.”

“Sure you can, you and Roman are the same height now!”

Virgil wasn’t assuaged, “You know what I mean.”

“I do,” Patton sighed. No amount of levity was going to make this any easier, “But you still can.”

“How do you know?” Virgil asked in earnest.

Patton placed his hand on the lanky emo’s shoulder in the way that only someone with natural parental instincts could, “Because you have to, kiddo.”

With that, he patted his companion firmly on the back and walked forward to set an example. Truth be told, Patton was nervous too. He saw Remus’ car still parked out front, and when he focused, he felt three energies coming from inside his home. He was going to have to be very brave for the next few moments. However, he took comfort in hearing Virgil’s footfalls trailing behind him. Maybe they could both be each other’s support tonight.

In a fluid motion, Patton took out his keys, unlocked the front door, and marched past the kitchen into the living room.

Logan and Roman stood up instantly from the couch upon his entrance, and Remus stopped chewing on his brother’s antiperspirant. Patton was by far the shortest one out of the group, but none of the taller men dared to reckon with the bold new force before them. The roommates were at a loss for what to say or do, and their guest was mercifully struck dumb as well. Even Virgil, who was hovering behind his friend as a makeshift bodyguard, was impressed by the newfound big energy the empath was exuding.

Papa Bear was back.

“Roman,” Patton said to the actor, “Remus is not allowed in this house until he learns how to behave himself. And Remus,” he stared at his attacker in a way that invited no negotiation, “Get out. Now.”

No one had to tell Remus twice. It didn’t take a mind reader to see that Patton meant business.

Remus headed for the front door, moving fast enough that Virgil sidestepped to let him by. Once he passed the threshold, he turned back around.

“Patton, I’m sorry.”

“Good,” the stern father figure said. He also moved forward, which meant Virgil had to press himself against the wall of their tiny front hallway.

“Lesson number one,” Patton continued, adjusting his own glasses in a habit he picked up from Logan, “don’t touch people without asking first.”

With that, he slammed the door shut and dead bolted the lock.

The man with the cardigan cape swiftly returned to the living room so he could direct his attention again to Roman.

“Are we clear?” There was no sunny smile on the little prep’s face. He was dead serious.

“Yes sir,” his very buff roommate pouted like a scolded child.

“Logan,” the empath turned to the tallest man in the room, “are you alright?”

“Yes Patton,” the nerd spoke in awe. Patton didn’t take charge like this often, but when he did, it gave the gangly geek goosebumps.

“Virgil?”

The size shifter was still cowering by the wall, but he shook off his surprise enough to slowly nod in response.

“Good.”

Patton took in the feelings of his three larger friends. They were surprised, and Logan was a little more flushed than usual, but the important thing was that they were all safe now. A small part of him felt like he should apologize for being so bossy.

Then he looked back at Virgil, and it was the emo who gave a soft smile. Patton felt exactly what his friend was radiating towards him: pride.

He remembered he was allowed to be angry. And he didn’t have to be sorry either.

“Now,” Papa Bear announced to all three of his kiddos, “let’s not let this ruin the rest of the holiday.” Patton then let himself grin for the first time since being back home.

“Goodnight everyone!” the prep beamed with a wave, and headed merrily up the stairs to his bedroom.

  
________________________

  
None of the others knew exactly how to follow that. For one thing, this was certainly not how any of them expected their Christmas Eve to go. For another, it was very late in the evening and getting closer and closer to midnight. An uncomfortable silence fell between them until finally, Logan coughed.

“Well gentlemen, I’m going to retire. I suggest you both do the same. Have a pleasant rest of your evening.”

If Logan’s steps had a little extra bounce as he ran upstairs, neither Roman nor Virgil were going to point it out to the enamored nerd.

However, his exit left just the actor and the emo alone in the living room. The former awkward silence re-commenced.

Virgil couldn’t take it anymore.

“Ro I am so sorry-” and his voice hitched. Not from his size shifting reverb, but because the tears he’d been holding back all night finally broke through. His legs seemed to break beneath him as well as he collapsed to the floor shaking.

What he didn’t expect was to be met with a strong warm embrace. Roman had crawled onto the floor to join him.

“Virgil, breathe for me, won’t you?”

“I didn’t know! I just heard the car and Logan screaming, and-”

“I know, I know, breathe for me, darling,” Roman’s own tears began to fall.

Virgil felt his throat close and tense up. His body screamed, but no sound came out.

Roman started singing so softly it was hardly a breath on the wind, “Let’s go in the garden,Three Four Five Six Seven.”

He scooped up the fragile man bridal style and Virgil let himself sink into his hold, still silently sobbing.

“Right there where you left it, Seven and Eight”

The prince carried his damsel towards their shared hallway.

“When you finally find it, Three Four Five Six Seven…”

Virgil’s bedroom door was closed but not locked.

“The underside is lighter…”

Roman effortlessly shifted his roommate to turn the handle.

“…When you turn it around”

Virgil let out a wet chuckle. Roman’s comedic timing was flawless. Roman was flawless.

…did he call him darling?

The prince hummed some more of the song. He gently placed Virgil onto the emo’s sleeping futon and pulled his bunched up weighted blanket over him.

“In little ways,” he let lyrics out again, tenderly placing Virgil’s hoodie over his tousled purple hair, “Everything stays.”

Roman moved to stand up, only to find a trembling hand holding onto his.

“Will you stay?”

Roman crouched back down, making clear contact with Virgil’s shining brown eyes.

“I’m not going anywhere, remember?” he smiled, “But I am going to change into my pj’s. Ten minutes, ok?”

Virgil nodded.

Roman was true to his word. Nine minutes later, he was in drawstring sweatpants and his old Hairspray cast t-shirt, with his hands behind his back.

“So Virgil, I don’t want you to panic, but I have one more secret to share with you tonight.”

Before the emo could process any reaction, the actor pulled out a rabbit rag doll wearing a green gingham dress and an off-white cotton apron.

“This is Mrs Fluffy Bottom,” Roman muttered sheepishly, “I can’t sleep without her.”

Virgil instinctively put his hands up to his mouth.

“Please don’t laugh,” Roman winced slightly away.

“No no no!” Virgil assured him, moving his hands down so Roman could see his face, “it’s just so fucking cute!”

The actor gasped and bent the bunny’s ears down. “You didn’t hear that”, he said to the stuffed animal, but then winked back at Virgil.

The prince paused, “Only sleeping ok?”

“Oh Roman, please,” the dark and stormy knight rolled his eyes, a small side smirk forming, “Take a boy to dinner first.”

At hearing his own words thrown back at him, Roman lowered himself back to the floor, carefully placed himself under the weighted blanket, and curled up around his favorite stormcloud. With Virgil now in his arms, he thought back to his conversation with Logan. It was hard to imagine this was the same giant who scared the shit out him just hours ago. But Virgil hadn’t known the full truth at the time. He was just trying to protect the people he loved. And what scared Roman now about Virgil was not the same fear from before. He was starting to think that this was more than just a little crush on the resident bad boy. This might indeed be something, well, bigger.

He knew three things for certain.

One, Remus was safe.

Two Patton and Logan were safe.

And three, he now knew the answer to the question Logan had asked him.

He trusted Virgil with his life.

“Deal,” he whispered so gently into the emo’s ear, not even Mrs Fluffy Bottom could have heard him.


	13. The Witching Hour

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trigger warnings:  
> -Language  
> -Implied former child abuse

Virgil didn’t want to wake up, but his body seemed to think it just needed a nap rather than sleep through the night. At some point, while Virgil was actually asleep, Roman had gone from softly spooning to completely star fishing onto his belly with just one arm lazily draped over the emo’s body. The other was curled tightly around Mrs Fluffy Bottom, and the actor’s mouth was slightly agape as he kept on dreaming. It was a ridiculously adorable sight, the built buff himbo clutching onto his stuffie like a preschooler. As much as Virgil felt he could drink in that image forever, he knew the best trick for his insomnia was not to lie in bed awake. Reluctantly, he squirmed out from under Roman’s arm and quietly tiptoed his way to the main area of the house. 

He didn’t expect someone else to be there.

“My apologies, Virgil. Did I wake you?”

“No, but…Logan, what are you doing up?”

The nerdiest resident was on the couch reading his well worn encyclopedia of Doctor Who trivia. A jar of Crofters jam was on the coffee table, empty, except for a spoon.

“I had no trouble falling asleep earlier,” the man in glasses said, “but staying asleep was another matter entirely”

“Same,” the emo snorted in response.

Virgil stood in silence over Logan. The way the light from the dimmers was hitting his body cast a long shadow over the lanky geek sitting on the couch. When Logan was standing, he was a good four inches taller than the shapeshifter’s normal height. However, Virgil looming over him like this, along with the lighting’s cruel visual representation, was unnerving. At least it was to Virgil.

Insomnia or not, he should head back to his room

“Well, I won’t bother you-”

“Actually Virgil, before you go, may I speak with you?”

On an ordinary day, the emo was not a morning person. He’d even go so far as to say he wasn’t really an “awake” person. The stress of this particular day though weighed on him even more heavily than usual. 

“Really Logan? It’s late o’clock in the morning and I’m just about talked out.”

“How do you mean?” the nerd inquired, closing his tome and gently putting it off to the side.

Virgil felt his tensions rise, not at Logan, but anything about to be said was going to have a triggering effect. Too much had happened, and even his sobbing spell from earlier didn’t get all the nerves out. “I’ve had heart to hearts with both Roman and Patton tonight and my patience for peopling is just about gone.” He was just about to leave when Logan replied.

“Perhaps we can reconvene at a time that is more convenient-”

“That’d be fucking great, thanks so much!”

His voice was snarky and biting, even without the reverb. His roommate didn’t deserve that.

“Logan, that was harsh, I’m sorry man” Virgil apologized sincerely.

“Please know that your use of expletives does not offend me.”

The emo hid a soft smirk. Leave it to Logan to focus on language usage over tone. However, Virgil did release a sigh. He swiped his bangs to the side of his face so as to make eye contact with his friend’s glasses. 

“I’m not the best at dealing with stress.”

“That was partially what I wanted to speak to you about,” said Logan, “I’d like to help if I can.”

That got Virgil’s attention. “How so?” He sat on the armrest of the couch to be more at level with his companion. The emo figured he owed as much to listen, considering how nasty he had been a moment ago.

Logan, for his part, cleared his throat and adjusted his frames in his very characteristic way before continuing, “I cannot offer you hugs or songs. I’m not comfortable enough with my singing skills to share them, and embracing is, frankly, a painful experience on my end. However, what I can provide is my rationality and my ability to stay calm under most circumstances.”

Virgil was already self conscious about his interrupted education. He had just decided to go back to college this year, while Logan was actively teaching and in the midst of getting his Masters. But whatever Logan just said really didn’t make any sense. If Virgil hadn’t known any better, it would have sounded like his roommate was applying for a job.

“I’m sorry Lo, I don’t understand.”

“I know you often go into the woods to let yourself,” the teacher paused, thinking of the appropriate word “expand, and I wonder if you would allow me to accompany you?”

That raised the emo’s hackles again, “Why?” he asked, trying to speak the one word as evenly as possible.

He was successful enough that Logan didn’t pick up on the mood change, “I could observe which techniques work best to help monitor your condition.”

“So you’d document and record me like a freak biology experiment?”

SMASH

Virgil jumped off the couch immediately in a flight response. The Crofters on the coffee table shattered itself into dozens of little tiny pieces. 

Logan looked almost as disheveled as the glass before him. He was the cause of yet another mess this evening. This also just disproved the case he was trying to make to his roommate. It was painfully apparent he wasn’t as in control of his emotions or powers as he wished.

He waved his hand over the coffee table, the glass shards tinkling gently together like wind chimes. Once every fractured chip materialized roughly back into shape, he stood with the deconstructed floating jar hovering over his palm.

“No,” he said in response to Virgil’s question, “I would never put anyone through what I went through.”

Logan started walking to the kitchen with only Virgil’s eyes following him. Roman had left a disposable takeout container and lid in the sink to be rinsed out at a later time. They would suffice for the telekinetic’s purposes now. The dirty plastic bowl rose to meet the broken jar and the glass pieces put themselves into the new container. Logan physically pulled the lid out of the sink himself to snap it shut before gently tossing everything into the recycling bin. He then started to wash his hands.

Virgil could only watch the scene before him in awe. He knew Logan was adopted, but didn’t know the circumstances. Apparently, they were absolutely the worst case scenario for someone like him. 

“Logan, I had no idea.”

“Why would you?” his roommate replied simply, still washing his hands “I didn’t tell you.”

Virgil guiltily concluded that he had never asked either.

“Buddy, I’m so sorry.”

Logan turned off the water and started drying his hands on a nearby teatowel, “You’re all right by me,” he said kindly. The nerd felt a faint recall of what was colloquially known as deja vu. That exact wording had been said recently, but when-

Oh.

It was Patton. 

Patton had said those words to him on their car ride home.

Was that really just a few hours ago?

Was Patton’s affect on him really so strong?

Had the toy store cashier taught the teacher a lesson?

The nerd blinked back into reality. His magenta haired roommate was standing before him and it was obvious their conversation required clarification.

“Virgil, I genuinely mean no ill will towards you. Your friendship is very important to me. I only want to help, and I think I can do so in a way our other roommates can’t.”

“Because Roman is a drama queen and Patton is an emotional puffball?”

“I didn’t say that,” Logan countered. But he didn’t correct Virgil either.

“Ok,” the emo nodded, “but on one condition.” 

“Please don’t make me confess my feelings to Patton”

Virgil couldn’t help but snort. The boy had it so bad, he was totally doomed, “Nah man, you gotta do that on your own,” he moved on, “but you’ll have to practice expanding with me.”

Logan cocked his head at that, “Virgil, I’m telekinetic, not a size shifter.”

“Then expand your mind, Logan!” Virgil exclaimed, “Not just with your book smarts, but with your powers. I think you’ve got more in you than you even know, but you hold back. Believe me, I totally get why, but maybe we can both, like, spot each other and make sure we don’t go past our limits.”

“Which we will set ourselves.” the teacher said firmly.

“Absolutely.” the college student agreed.

Logan considered the proposed bargain, but found no immediate fault with it.

“That would be satisfactory,” he said.

“Cool.” Virgil nodded, “Fist bump?”

Logan was well aware that shaking hands indicated a deal had been struck between colleagues and appreciated that Virgil was attempting to adapt accordingly. Therefore, he did indeed fist bump, and the brief skin to skin contact gave both roommates a small electric shock.

“It’s settled then.” Logan sighed. He was not expecting to deal with this many feelings in addition to their earlier ordeal.

Virgil knew exactly how difficult physical contact could be for his friend and only hoped what he said next wasn’t too patronizing.

“I’m proud of you.”

That simple phrase was something Logan didn’t hear much as a child. 

It still made him a little sheepish to hear it as an adult. 

So he simply nodded and made his way to the stairs. 

Virgil looked at the clock on their living room wall.

3am, The Witching Hour.

Which meant it was officially December 25th.

“Hey Logan.” he called up softly to his roommate.

“Yes?” said Logan, taking a quick half step back.

“Happy Newton’s Birthday.”

The geek gasped, “You remembered?!”

Virgil gave a final wink to his favorite telekinetic friend before exiting the living room and finally heading back to his bat cave.

When Virgil opened the door, he saw that Roman was having a nightmare. The actor was tossing and turning and the weighted blanket on the futon seemed to be pinning him down instead of providing him comfort. His jaw was now locked shut, like he was doing battle with the demons in his mind. But what broke Virgil’s heart the most was that Roman was whimpering.

“Hey hey hey,” Virgil crawled down on the floor “Ro, you’re ok” he whispered softly, removing the blanket to free its captive. 

Unfortunately, that seemed to make things worse. The prince’s legs started to kick and his hands started to paw at the air in front of him. 

Which was when Virgil realized-

“Oh buddy, where’s your bunny?” 

The emo must have inadvertently tossed the rag rabbit off with the bedding. As he searched through the wadded up wrinkles, he didn’t notice he had grown until he finally found her, and she was just barely the size of his palm.

“SHIT!”

The giant immediately clasped his free hand over his big stupid mouth. He sussed out his size. Approximately ten, maybe twelve feet at the most, definitely not in the danger zone, but still.

“Virge?”

Double shit! His stupid fucking reverb woke up Roman. 

Well, kind of…

As Virgil peered down at him, he could see Roman had his eyes closed, but was making tiny grabby hand motions. Maybe he was still dreaming. 

Anyway, the monster next to the futon was holding his toy in his massive meat mitt. Very carefully, as if she were made of porcelain instead of cotton, Virgil gingerly placed Mrs Fluffy Bottom into the sleepy man’s grasp. However, with his bunny back, the owner of the stuffed animal then grabbed onto the cuff of Virgil’s oversized sleeve. 

“Stay.” The little prince continued tugging with slurred speech, not roughly but with intention. “Don’t hafta change for me”

Was Roman dreaming or was Virgil?

Sleepily, the actor took charge regardless. He kept tugging until Virgil lay down. He then dragged the big guy’s arm over his own body, like he was teaching Virgil how to cuddle from scratch. 

The size shifter finally figured that even if he was the one dreaming, he might as well submit.

Virgil scooped up Roman completely in his arms, mimicking the way the manchild was holding his rabbit. The three of them were almost like those Russian open up dolls (what were they called again? He’d ask Logan in the morning if he remembered). The giant shifted briefly to grab the weighted blanket and drape it over Roman and his own chest. It was more for the actor’s benefit than for his at this point; Roman was all the grounding he needed.

Now that the two awkward boys were resituated, they could both finally fall back asleep.


	14. A Casserole and a Cup of Coffee

Logan woke up to the intense aroma of something divinely savory wafting up from the kitchen.

His eyes opened wide.

Oh no…

Not again…

He grabbed his glasses as his bedroom door opened itself.

He nearly tripped on his discarded top sheet as he briskly ran down the stairs.

He stopped dead in his tracks when he saw who was by the stove.

“Thank the stars,” Logan exhaled with relief, “I thought it was Patton.”

“Aw yea Lo, no, just me.” Roman said “I’m re-heating mi madre’s casserole.”

“When did your mother give you a casserole?” Logan inquired, still more than slightly out of breath from the effort of hurrying.

“Last night,” Roman replied, “I know a lot happened, but that actually  _ was _ the reason Remus came over in the first place.”

The mention of his roommate’s brother gave the taller man some pause. He chose his next words very carefully. 

“Roman, given the circumstances, do you think it’s wise to consume something that was left in the care of your twin?”

“It’s fine, Teach,” Roman replied. “He double pinky swore only our mom touched the food.”

Logan raised an eyebrow at the mention of the unusual oath, “And, you believe him?”

Roman turned back to look at his friend solemnly, “He double pinky swore.”

A timer dinged. The casserole’s confinement in the oven was complete.

“Allow me,” Logan said before Roman could search for the glove mitts.

The oven door opened and the tray floated to rest on the stove top.

“How long should we wait for it to cool?” the telekinetic asked.

“Uh,” the actor stammered slightly, “ten minutes should be fine.”

“Very well,” Logan was already plugging the digits into his Apple Watch. “I shall set my timer for ten minutes exactly.” 

The nerd looked up to see his friend staring at him.

Perhaps that display of his abilities was too much. Although Logan was incredibly cautious out of habit, he had thought he was figuratively lending a hand. Nevertheless, Roman had only just found out about their powers within the last few weeks. It could very well still be shocking.

The teacher opened his mouth in an attempt to rectify the situation, but found himself interrupted.

“Logan, can you fly?”

The question had him stunned.

“...Why do you ask?” 

“I had this really wild dream last night-”

Now it was Roman’s turn to be interrupted.

A 5’10” Virgil ran up to the kitchen opening, only to stop cold when he saw who was there.

“Oh,” he breathed “not Pat.”

“Good morning my pretty purple punk princess!” Roman exclaimed grandly.

“No,” Virgil muttered “Too much. Too early. Back to bed.” The emo nightmare started to slump off when he caught a glance of the actor’s crestfallen face. 

He sighed, “Not you. Me. Can’t words. More sleep. Then, Christmas Princey”

“Well you’re a mean one, Mr Grinch,” Roman declared, “but I look forward to your next awakening wherein your heart shall grow three sizes this day”

Virgil looked at him, looked like he was about to respond, and then promptly turned on his heel to trudge back to his bat cave.

“So, he’s not a morning person?” 

“That would be an understatement,” Logan replied bluntly, but also couldn’t help letting a hint of an amused smile emerge.

“It’s Christmas, Kiddos!” a delighted voice bounded from above. Roman briefly had a flashback to his dream, where Patton was the benevolent giant watching over them all. Nevertheless, the sight of 5’4” Patton in a red and green holiday themed onesie still filled his heart with cheer.

“Well  _ Fleece _ Navidad to you too, Padre!” the buffest roommate responded gleefully, “that ensemble is practically prancing with holiday spirit!”

“Well I do have some connections with The Big Guy, big guy,” the smallest roommate winked back.

“Are you referring to the fictional Santa Clause, Patton, or did your employer give that to you for working overtime yesterday?” Logan asked

“Not telling, Merry Logan Berry,” the smallest roommate said to the tallest, “but Happy Newton’s Birthday to you too!”

The hint of Logan’s smile became completely visible and followed with a flush.

“Well, boys shall we dig in?” Roman asked as he went to grab the handles of the casserole dish. 

He forgot that Logan’s timer hadn’t gone off yet-

“Mother--Father-Brother!” the actor yelped, jumping back and changing his original intended language on a dime when he saw how large Patton’s eyes got.

“Oh Roman, you’re hurt!” the empath gasped, “May I have your hands?”

Roman paused. He had seen Patton work his magic on Virgil, but was hesitant to let himself be treated.

“Won’t it hurt you instead?” he asked.

The smaller man smiled but something didn’t quite reach his eyes.

“I can’t get hurt, remember?”

Still, he reached out with open palms, and Roman gingerly shared his own.

The stinging heat from the pot eased into a gentle warmth. 

The warmth traveled from his hands, up his arms, and to his heart.

For a moment, Roman’s body felt like he had just drunk hot cocoa on a cold winter’s night.

It felt refreshing. Cozy. Safe. 

And then as quickly as it came, it was gone.

“Pat, that was-”

“Aw it was nothing! Just a little-” the small empath’s words were suddenly muffled by the embrace of the larger man.

“You are so special, Patton Hart! Please promise me you won’t ever change!”

“Well I do plan on changing out of this onesie tomorrow morning, but after that we’ll see.”

Roman laughed, and the vibrations made Patton feel almost as warm as Roman had been.

Behind them, Logan cleared his throat as the timer on his watch finally went off. “If you will both excuse me, I am going to change into more appropriate day time attire.”

He left them without waiting for a response.

“What’s up with him?” Romas asked.

Patton suddenly found a very interesting spot on the floor. The empath had felt something like envy from Logan during his and Roman’s hug. “I think I understand, but I probably shouldn’t say...”

……………...

Upstairs, Logan closed the door to his room gently. His clothes for the day were neatly pressed and prepped on his desk chair waiting for him. He unconsciously wrapped his hand around his forearm where Patton had touched him last night. He didn’t like what he was feeling now. It wasn’t jealousy. Logan knew Roman’s embrace of Patton had been platonic.

It was that Roman  _ could _ embrace Patton, and if last night taught the teacher anything, it had been a clear indication that he never could. 

Logan let go of his arm and held his palms out to receive his folded clothing as they floated over to meet him. He sighed as the fabric touched his hands.

He’d give up every ounce of power he had if it meant he could hold-

But there was no use dwelling on conditional statements. 

And he certainly wasn’t going to wallow in self pity on Patton’s favorite holiday.

Resolute in his determination, the telekinetic began to make himself presentable for the rest of the day’s intended activities.

..............................

“Hey,” Roman said, catching Patton’s eye, “don’t think too hard, ok Sweet Pea? He’ll be fine when he gets back, he’s the biggest boy of us all.” he paused “I mean, I probably weigh more from working out,” he paused again, “and Virgil can get bigger too, obviously” he paused one final time “but on a normal day, Logan’s the tallest and the best at being an adult. So, don’t you worry, Pat the bunny!” 

Roman ruffled Patton’s auburn curls until the smaller roommate grinned, then grabbed the nearby oven mitts and responsibly transferred the casserole from the stove top to the table.

“I’m gonna get Snow Fright out of his coffin so we can finally get this party started!”

Roman went to knock on Virgil’s door, but opened it before waiting for a response.

“ _ I know you, I walked with you once upon a dream! _ ” he belted melodiously.

“Five mo’ minus…” the magenta head of hair said before pulling a pillow over his ears.

“No more minutes!” Roman declared, “Get your derrière up so we can celebrate the festivities like a goddamn family!”

“NO!” Virgil moaned, his reverb emerging to emphasize his protest.

“Yas!” the prince sang back nonplussed as he bent down and hoisted the lithe sleeper up over his shoulder.

“WHAT THE HELL ROMAN?!”

“Merry Christmas ya filthy animal!” Roman gleefully ran past the kitchen with the suddenly very squirmy emo in his arms before nonchalantly tossing him onto their couch. “And a happy new year!”

Virgil’s size shifting ability was useless in this particular situation as he did everything he could to make himself smaller. He tightened his hoodie strings until his mouth was covered and hugged his knees tightly to his chest. In a vain attempt to completely disappear, he grabbed the throw off the back of the sofa and wrapped it around himself until he was effectively cocooned. 

“Morning kiddo!” Patton called out, “would you like some wake up juice?”

“COFFEE. BLACK. LIKE MY SOUL,” rumbled the form under the blanket “...THANKS PAT.”

Roman coyly kneeled down to be at level with the bundled grouch “You’re so cute when you’re grumpy.” 

“I HATE YOU SO HARD RIGHT NOW.”

“Too bad the feeling’s not mutual,” and without warning, the prince planted a kiss on his damsel’s nose.

The moment after it happened, both men could only stare at each other in stunned silence. It was hard to say who was more surprised, the smouched or the smoucher. Both of their hazy memories from the night before came flooding back, in particular that Roman had now officially kissed Virgil twice. The sound of the tea kettle started whistling gently above them.

“Hey Roman,” their smallest roommate called from the kitchen again “could you adjust the A/C? It just got warmer in here all of a sudden!”

“No problemo Patito!” the actor called back, thankful for a brief respite from the precarious situation.

Meanwhile, the empath was doing everything in his power to keep himself from giggling at the boys in the next room.

Something was brewing alright, and it wasn’t just the half burnt instant coffee.


	15. Old Traditions Die Hard

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trigger warnings: Food, a mention of incest in the context of Greek mythology (but it's very short, it's a throw away line Virgil says to be a smart ass)

Logan adjusted his tie before heading down the stairs. The others were all seated at the table. Patton was still in his Christmas themed onesie, but that was no surprise as he had already announced his intention to do so. Roman was also still in his sleepwear, a red shirt that said “hairspray” in blocked lettering and grey sweatpants. What was odd, was that Virgil was wearing the same day time outfit he had on yesterday.

How had he not noticed before?

Regardless, Logan was moderately pleased to see that no one else was dressed in anything particularly festive with the exception of Patton. The nerd had been a bit concerned it would have been rude to not follow an unspoken communal dress code. However, it was for naught, and since everyone was present…

“Shall we commence with the traditional offering of gifts?” he asked.

“Not until you taste the sweet ambrosia of Mama Valerie!” Roman declared as he cut a slice of the casserole and presented it on a plate for the last roommate standing.

“It’s so good, Logan!” said Patton. Or at least that’s what Logan inferred Patton had said, as he was speaking with food in his mouth.

“Yea, Lo, it’s-” Virgil paused briefly to imitate a chef’s kiss.

Logan took the plate from Roman as he joined his friends at the table.

“Is it truly ambrosia, Roman?” the teacher asked “As in the traditional southern dessert salad?” 

The actor shook his head, “I was referring to the food of the classical Greek pantheon, which is the only appropriate comparison to the cooking of mi madre.”

“What is it with you and Greek mythology, Princey?” Virgil inquired, “You mention it, like, a lot.”

“Heroes and adventures in a far away land,” Roman smiled, “what’s not to like?”

“How about all the gross ass cryptids and a hell of a lot of incest?” the emo countered.

“Now kiddoes, let’s not argue at the holiday table,” Patton reprimanded lightly, “Logan, what do you think? Do you like it?”

Logan had just had a bite of the casserole and his eyes were suddenly very bright and shiny.

“Roman,” he started before taking another bite. He almost didn’t finish eating before continuing to speak, “This is exquisite! The flavor profile is surprisingly bold, but nuanced. Please give your mother my compliments.”

“Would you like to tell her yourself?” Roman asked, “I’m going to v-chat her on WhatsApp later in the afternoon.”

Logan could only nod as he took a third, even larger bite. This was a new December 25th tradition he could get used to.

“Now, don’t worry about eating too fast,” Patton chuckled, “There’s still plenty of time to open gifts.”

Whether intended or not, Logan took that as a social cue not to ask for seconds.

“Hey Amazing Growing Boy, that goes for you too.” Roman teased towards the current five foot ten size shifter, “Save some leftovers for tomorrow, alright?” 

“Aw,” Virgil faux batted his lashes, “you think I’m amazing.”

Well, that comment made Roman blush, which then made Virgil blush, which in turn completely confused Logan. Patton, picking up on all this, decided now was as good a moment as any to announce:

“Present time!”

The smallest roommate jumped out of his seat to grab everyone’s plates for the kitchen sink. Roman took the opportunity to quickly follow behind with the leftovers while Virgil used the moment of distraction to walk away from the table and sulk back on the couch.

Logan still had no idea what was going on, but after a few seconds, decided to join Virgil. He did know better than to ask. Instead he cast the trusty old throw blanket towards his anxious roommate. Patton liked being wrapped in a blanket when he was stressed, perhaps Virgil would too. Unlike Patton, the emo wordlessly grabbed the blanket and threw it completely over his head. Soon after though, his hand emerged in the direction Logan was sitting with a timid thumb up. 

_“Same treatment + different patient = different result”,_ the teacher formulated in his mind.

“Hey buddy,” Patton asked the hidden roommate upon his return, “whatcha doing?”

“I believe Virgil is attempting to revive the Victorian holiday tradition of telling ghost stories,” Logan offered as Roman walked in the living room just behind Patton.

“Really, that was a thing?” the actor raised an eyebrow. It was only partially because of the curious bit of trivia, he was much more concerned about the fact that the boy he had kissed (twice) was now literally hiding under a blanket.

“Indeed,” Logan continued, “Although Virgil is a day late, it was a common practice for many a Christmas Eve of years past. If you recall, Scrooge was visited by three ghosts the night before Christmas Day in the Dickens’ novel. A Christmas Carol is, essentially, a ghost story.”

“WHAT LO SAID” a voice rumbled under its cover, before coughing and growling in frustration at his surprise burst of resonance.

“Alright, Ebenezer Sanderson,” Patton chuckled lightly as he gently took Roman’s arm before the actor could stride over to the anxiously covered ghoul. 

Roman hesitated briefly, but eventually gave in. Patton knew Virgil’s moods better than anyone, both because of his ability and due to the longevity of their friendship. He trusted his judgement.

“Very well,” Roman declared, “let the gift exchange begin!”

“Allow me to start so that I may explain.” Logan said, “I’m afraid I did get a disproportionate amount of gifts per person, but I hope after the packaging is unwrapped, there will be no hard feelings between us.”

That was certainly an interesting statement. Roman watched Logan pick up three packages with his hands. The largest one he deposited next to Virgil on the couch. The smallest one was handed delicately to Patton. The medium sized one he gingerly passed to Roman. 

“I must confess, I don’t understand your professional make-believe very well, but I have been told that this is considered essential by many performers of your craft.”

Roman was bewildered at that as he carefully tore off the wrapping paper. He was even more shocked when he saw what was inside.

“Great Uta Hagen!” the actor gaped, “An Actor Prepares!”

“I did some light research through the BroadwayWorld.com message boards and saw that this tome was required reading for many acting classes. It also appeared to have more practical exercises than most of the Method instructionals from the Group Theatre teachers.”

Roman was starting to get a little less surprised at how often he was becoming speechless in this house. 

He knew Logan studied linguistics, but for once, the nerd was speaking his language.

Meanwhile, Virgil had grabbed the biggest package to open under the blanket and was thrilled no one could see his face. Logan bought him all five of the overpriced textbooks he needed for the spring college semester. He had been planning on doing what he had done during the fall term: pull all nighters at the library for the required readings that were on reserve. 

Now he didn’t have to.

Then Virgil heard Patton gasp and the student pulled the blanket down off his face.

Patton had one hand over his mouth and his other clutching a small, very worn, old book with a creased spine. It looked like a garage sale leftover if Virgil was being honest, but then he heard Patton whisper.

“Winnie the Pooh?”

“First edition,” Logan nodded with an averted gaze, “Your Aunt Patty helped me find it.”

Patton was about to speak, but Roman suddenly found his voice again.

“My turn, boys!” 

Those two could wait on the mushy stuff for later.

Roman passed out gold paper envelopes that were sealed with tiny Mickey Mouse Stickers.

“You all have to open them at the same time. Get ready, one, two, THREE!”

The others did as commanded. Inside was an invitation.

“Be Our Guest, Table for 4,” Patton read out loud, “6:30pm, March 21th?”

“Gentlemen, I’m friends with a few friends of princesses at the parks and my gorgeous gal pals were able to pull a few strings off Pinnochio for me,” Roman smiled. “For the last weekend of Virgil’s spring break, we’re going to the Beauty and the Beast Castle for dinner. And the tab is already taken care of thanks to my detective web series paycheck.”

“‘Kill in the Blank’ paid you that well?” Logan inquired. It was a very forward question, but this was an incredibly generous gift. Reservations for Be Our Guest sometimes took up to a year to reserve, and during the spring break period in Florida especially, it was nearly impossible to get a table, even for locals who worked at the resort.

“Yup!” Roman beamed, not even the least bit offended. He knew he did good.

Virgil stared up at the actor in awe. He scheduled this for him?

“Gosh kiddos,” Patton managed to say, “my presents are so silly compared to all this Disney Christmas magic.” 

“Patton, I am sure that whatever you have to give will be treasured by us all,” Logan said in a way that made the empath feel very warm.

The flush on his face did not go unnoticed by Virgil or Roman. The two of them momentarily forgot their own awkwardness to quickly shoot knowing glances at each other.

In a day too full of pauses and silences, Patton ploughed ahead into the present pile and handed each of his roommates identical long rectangular boxes.

“Just let me know if you don’t like them,” the toy cashier started, “but we got this shipment of adult sizes and I thought of you all. I can always return them-”

“OMIGOSH Patton I LOVE IT!!!” Roman practically squealed at the sight of what he saw inside, “I’m going to put it on right now!”

“Aw Roman you don’t have to-”

“Yes I do! Especially after I just told you where we’re going, it’s fate, destiny, serendipity…” his voice disappeared as he nearly skipped toward his bedroom.

“Aw Pat, this is both badass and adorable,” a softer voiced Virgil replied. In his arms was a hooded skeleton onesie, “I’m getting ‘Baby You’re a Haunted House’ vibes.”

“Well, that was the closest one they had that looked kind of like Jack Skeleton.”

“And you know I love hoodies,” Virgil smiled at his bestie as he took off his hoodie and started putting on his gift, “Nice work, Bone Daddy”

Patton beamed at the double punned Disney reference before turning to his tallest roommate.

“Logan, I’m afraid that was the only one they had that went past six feet-”

The empath stopped. Logan was looking down into his box with an unreadable expression, completely statue still. In addition, his mental wall was all the way up, locked, and barred.

Earlier in the kitchen, Patton felt it almost immediately when something was off. Now he couldn’t feel the telekinetic at all, and he knew that was intentional. Logan had shut him out.

The telekinetic silently walked towards the stairs, the opened box and its contents still in his hands. He ascended without a word, leaving Virgil and Patton alone in the living room.

“What’s he feeling?” Virgil asked.

Patton could only shake his head.

“TA DA!” Roman emerged oblivious and fully clad in his brand new Beauty and the Beast onesie. It was a replica of the Beast complete with the cartoon blue dress suit and horns on the hood. It was basically an instant costume for the Broadway belter boy, “ _No spirit could win me!-”_

“Not now, Princey,” Virgil stopped the singer before he could belt any further.

Roman was about to be offended, until he saw his smallest roommate’s face.

“What happened?”

“Roman,” Patton’s voice cracked as a single tear streamed past his glasses, “I think Logan hates me.”


	16. The Unicorn and Him

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: This is not a happy chapter. Child abuse, narrow ‘discussion’ on gender, and basically a hurt no comfort ending. The next chapter will be happier, but rainbows only follow after the rain.
> 
> As a prequel, you may want to read 'Forget/Failure' in the February Prompts shorts section.

Logan sat at the edge of his bed gazing down at the opened oblong box.

Two strains of memory flashed across his mind.

One was from the night Roman discovered their powers.

The other, he didn’t want to concentrate on at all….

…………………………………………………………..

He helped Patton walk up the stairs.

He could feel his smallest roommate’s energy shake at a core level, beyond the visible physical.

He placed his hand on Patton’s blanketed back to steady him as they ascended upstairs.

He didn’t want him to fall.

They walked past his own bedroom as the door to Patton’s opened on its own.

He was about to release his support, but stopped when he felt a sharp intake of breath beneath him. Patton’s shaking increased at the lack of contact.

The telekinetic didn’t hesitate. As the empath was still wrapped up in the throw, there was no fear of skin to skin touch as Logan scooped Patton up the way he had seen Roman lift Virgil.

The shaking instantly stopped.

“Patton, I am not going to let go until you are in your bed. Is that alright?”

There was a pause, and then Logan felt his roommate nod against his chest.

He walked through the open door and knelt down once they reached the bed.

“Alright, on the count of three, I will release my hold of you. Are you ready?”

The empath nodded again.

“One, two-”

“Wait! Where’s Poohbear?”

It was Logan’s turn to pause. Then he remembered back in college, Patton had a stuffed animal version of the fictional character Winnie the Pooh. It appeared that Patton still had it, and it was supposedly somewhere in this general vicinity. 

As his eyes scanned the area, Logan noticed the shadow of a lone limb between the crevice of the wall and the bed. He mentally tugged on it until it floated out of its precarious position.

“It- he’s right here, Patton,” the telekinetic said as the toy glided within eye line of the smaller human, “why don’t you hold on to him while I let go?”

He took Patton’s grasp of Poohbear and soft smile as confirmation to slowly remove his arms.

“Is there anything else I can do for you before I leave?” Logan asked. From what he could tell, his usefulness was over, but if Patton wanted him to stay with him through the night, he would. However, Patton shook his head and removed his own eyewear for himself.

“I’m glad you’re feeling better,” Logan said as he stood up.

He was about to cross the entryway when he heard a sleepy voice.

“Logan, did you ever have a stuffie?”

Logan’s older memory interrupted the first…

……………………………………………

The five year and one day old child nearly skipped to his parent’s house just off campus.

They determined that once he was old enough to walk and was responsible enough not to meander from the path, he was capable of taking himself to testing.

Usually the last session of the week made him a little sad because it meant school was over until Monday. However, today Logan was excited because he wanted to show his new friend Lewis his home.

That was what he had named the stuffed unicorn Liz had given him. They had been reading ‘Alice Through the Looking Glass’ earlier that day and The Unicorn, like many of the other animal characters, was only referred to by his species. Logan was not satisfied that the book had no further information. He chose Lewis as a name because that was the first name of the author of the novel. 

He also liked the alliterate implications.

_-Liz lent Logan Lewis._

_No, not lent, gave._

_-Liz gave Logan Lewis?_

That was more accurate, but didn’t have the same, for lack of a better word, flow.

“Lewis, what’s another English word for ‘gave’ that starts with an L?” he asked his fluffy friend. Unfortunately, Lewis didn’t seem to know either. 

“I can check the thesaurus!” the child declared as he placed the plushie on the barely used kitchen table. “I have to go to _his_ room, but I know where it is. You stay here Lewis, just in case”

Logan was not welcome in _his_ room without explicit permission, but this was very important research.

Besides, _he_ wasn’t home yet.

Even so Logan found himself tiptoeing towards the door to the forbidden study. 

He tested the handle without touching it. 

Locked.

Well, that just took a few extra seconds to undo.

Even with the door open, the boy didn’t cross the threshold.

He knew his father didn’t have any of his own supernatural abilities, but the man did know exactly where the location of each of his personal items belonged. 

Logan had to be very careful.

He saw the tome he was looking for on a low shelf.

He summoned it over and the pages flipped through to the G section as the boy adjusted his oversized glasses to read.

_Gave_

_-award_

_-bestow_

_-commit_

_-deliver_

_-hand,_

_-lease_ (no, too similar to lent)

The only other L words he could find where phrasal verbs that required prepositions.

_-lavish upon_

_-lay upon_

_Then_

_-let have_

“Liz let Logan have Lewis?”

It wasn’t perfect, but it was the best he could do in English.

Perhaps he could try in another language-

He heard the front door click.

_He_ was home.

Logan didn’t have much time.

The book flew back to its place and Logan tried to match the click and lock of the door before him with the sounds of the locking from the main entrance. He was successful. He adjusted his position in the hallway to look like he was coming from his own bedroom, one of many little techniques he used to avoid as much conflict from him as possible. 

Mother was cold, but _he_ was-

“Logan!”

The tone ordered the child to meet _him_ immediately.

No magic was necessary for the Palovian response of Logan obeying his father.

He all but ran.

The scientist in the kitchen was the tallest person Logan personally knew, though Logan was small for his age. Dr Dixon said he’d probably have a growth spurt when he hit puberty, but when Logan asked what puberty was, the answer he received was vague. At this moment, he thought about Alice. Her age was never mentioned and she could change her height throughout her story. 

He wished he had that power instead of his own right now. 

“What is this?”

The little boy blanched.

In _his_ grasp was Lewis.

“Logan, I asked you a question. A question requires a response. What is this?”

“A toy”

“That is not a sufficient answer, Logan. What is this?”

“A toy s-stuffed unicorn”

“Logan, use complete sentences, no contractions, and address the person you are speaking to. I will not repeat myself again: What. Is. This?”

“It is a toy stuffed unicorn, Father.”

“And why is there a ‘toy stuffed unicorn’ in this house?”

“Liz gave him to me for a birthday present”

“Him?” The scientist’s uptick on the question gave his son goosebumps, “Logan, this is an inanimate object of an unreal animal.” He turned the object upside down, “It doesn’t possess male genitalia and therefore cannot have a masculine pronoun-”

“Falsehood.”

The silence that followed before _his_ reply was deafening.

“...What did you say?”

The five year and one day old young man straightened his posture to finally meet _his_ gaze. He could follow the Draconian rules of grammar set before him, but he knew that _his_ views on gender were inaccurate. 

“I understand you, Father, but you are wrong.”

The hand was larger than the face it smacked and it sent the child sprawling, his glasses flying far away from him on the tiled floor.

On a millisecond’s delay, Logan’s nervous system caught up to the sting of the physical contact and hit him like high voltage electrocution. From the child’s prostate angle, _he_ looked even larger and more terrifying to his fragile son.

And Logan was not a normal little boy.

As he went into shock from the skin to skin contact, all of the light bulbs in the kitchen suddenly burned bright then popped, raining broken glass and darkness upon him and the scientist.

Logan didn’t see the flash of fear that crossed in his father’s eyes, but he did see _him_ reach for the knife.

Lewis was hacked to shreds, cotton innards scattered haphazardly and his velvety outer layer diminished into frayed ribbons. 

“I don’t like losing my temper, Logan.” his father said. 

_He_ saved ripping the toy’s horn apart with _his_ bare hands. “Don’t make me do it again. Do you understand?”

“Yes, I understand, Father,” the little boy replied meekly.

He understood very clearly that the man before him was dangerous.

“Good,” he said, “now clean up this mess you made.”

………………………………...

“I had a unicorn with a blue mane when I was five,” Logan replied after a brief pause, “but I lost him.”

“That’s so sad” a small, tearful voice said back.

“It’s alright Patton, I have real friends like you now.” Logan smiled. And he meant it. “Rest well, my real friend.”

“You too, Logie Bear,” the empath just barely whispered as he dozed off.

Logan felt a tingling sensation in his fingertips and stomach that he knew was not part of his power. Just to be safe though, he closed Patton’s door with his physical hands, which also allowed him one last glance at the head of auburn curls pressing a beloved Winnie the Pooh gently against his sweet face.

………………………………………………

Logan had assumed the chances of Patton remembering the details of what he had actually said that night would be infinitesimal. However, Patton was remarkable in many ways and Logan was wrong about two things.

The first was that Patton did indeed remember. The present he had given him this Christmas was an adult sized animal onesie that was long enough to fit his 6’2” frame.

It was a unicorn with a blue mane.

Logan had thought after twenty plus years of Lewis’ demise, he had no more tears left to cry.

This was the second thing he was wrong about, the confirmation of which was the liquid falling from the bridge of his nose, fogging up his glasses, and leaving tiny darkened circles on the soft folded fabric below.


	17. When Push Comes to Shove

“Patton, that can’t possibly be true,” Roman declared to distraught Patton, who pressed his face into Virgil in a vain attempt to hide.

“If Pat says it’s true, then it’s true,” the recipient of the sad little man said. Virgil was doing his best at soothing his friend, gently patting him on the back in a “there there” fashion.

“Patton, is that really how Logan feels?” Roman pressed, “I mean, could you tell with your powers?”

“Princey!” The size shifter glared, but he felt a weight literally lift off his chest. Patton removed his glasses and rubbed his eyes. 

“I don’t know for sure,” the empath admitted, “but I feel...I’m so confused, I can feel him from here, and he’s feeling so much, so many different-”

“But is any of it hate that is being directed at you?”

Virgil began to growl in warning “Roman-” 

“Jesus Christ Superstar, Virgil! Patton’s not as fragile as you think he is!”

All three of the roommates stopped when they heard a door upstairs creak open and close. There was a brief pause, but their eyes moved upward to the staircase as the teacher descended.

In the 15 minutes Logan since had been gone, he had put on the unicorn onesie over his clothes. His necktie was hanging out past the front zipper loosely, but his posture was resolute.

“My apologies for my abrupt exit, gentlemen,” Logan said, “I wanted to put this on in the comfort of my room.”

No one would say Logan’s forte was reading a room. If it was, perhaps he would have seen Roman’s goofy smile at the teacher in his costume, or caught the figurative daggers coming from Virgil’s gaze. As it was though, the telekinetic only had eyes for the empath, and he was not so clueless as to not notice his smallest roommate’s eyes were shining from freshly shed tears. Logan spoke as gently as possible and could only hope the empath would read past his surface words and into his honest intentions.

“Patton, this is the most thoughtful gift I have ever received. With your permission, I would like to embrace you as a way to express my gratitude.”

Roman audibly gasped and Virgil’s jaw visibly dropped, but neither of their reactions mattered. Only Patton’s. Patton, whom he had known for ten years and barely made any intentional physical contact with. Patton, who was normally so warm and open to affection from others, but who now stood sniffling and reservedly hesitant as he timidly put his glasses back on his face. Patton, the man he kept seeming to hurt over and over again, in spite of both their powers. Patton, whom he loved more than just as a friend. Logan only had his gaze focused on Patton, as the smaller man stretched out his arms and allowed Logan to come to him. 

The 6 foot 2 roommate carefully bent down low to hug his 5 foot 4 roommate. Being sure to never, ever, touch skin, they both only made contact with the velvet imitation fabric of their respective hoods and jumpsuits. Once Patton gingerly reciprocated, the teacher stood up and held the cashier to his level so that his feet were no longer touching the ground. At finding himself off the floor, Patton couldn’t help but giggle as he gave himself permission to hug Logan tighter. The lights on the Christmas tree began to flicker, reacting to the bell-like sound of Patton’s laughter. In that moment, Logan didn’t care about their other two roommates, or anyone else in the world for that matter. He was just so happy and full of joy, only the man in his arms mattered. 

“It’s a Christmas miracle, isn’t it Vee?” Roman half whispered as he watched the Hallmark Channel movie plot unfold in front of him.

He did not receive a response. He suddenly found himself standing alone.

Assuming that the glasses gays would benefit from some private time, the actor went to the most likely place Virgil could be.

Sure enough, the door to the bat cave was closed.

He knocked anyway, “Hey,” he started, then stopped. What should he say? “I’m sorry for swearing at you earlier?” he weakly settled upon.

“I don’t fucking care,” his stormcloud thundered back lowly, but loud enough to be clearly heard.

Well, Roman knew exactly what to say to that, “Lies, Lies, Liza Minelli!”

“Oh?” Virgil scoffed before opening the door. Surprisingly, especially given that there was no reverberation from his tone, the actor had to raise his gaze up to meet Virgil, who was a full foot taller than his standard height. Was this normal? Roman was about to ask, but the larger than usual man continued.

“Excuse me for knowing Patton since we were kids,” Virgil went on, “and _maybe_ I know some shit you don’t, and _maybe_ you don’t know anything about me, but you just think you do because you know all of one stupid secret. Surprise Princey, you don’t. Apology _not_ accepted!”

If Virgil thought that was the end of it, he was very wrong. Roman had taken a full semester of unarmed stage combat his senior year of college, and his skills weren’t rusty yet. He was able to swiftly maneuver through Virgil’s attempt at slamming the door until he was in the bedroom and slammed the door behind him himself.

“We’re not done!” the actor declared. The size shifter responded by expanding to at least 20 feet, arching over Roman while emitting an animalistic hiss.

“I’m not scared of you!” Roman spat back at the terror having a temper tantrum fit for a toddler.

“YOU SHOULD BE,” the leering monster seethed back. However Roman could see in his impossibly beautiful brown eyes what was really going on.

“You’re just scared because you think someone’s gonna take your brother away from you!”

The giant paused at that, “...I’M AN ONLY CHILD...”

“I’m talking about Patton and you know it.” Roman said firmly. It didn’t take a genius with clairvoyance to see that Virgil had assigned himself as Patton’s protector. Perhaps, however, it was actually the protector who was in most need of protection from his own dark thoughts.

“SHUT UP,” Virgil said, but outside of being reverberant, there was no malice attached to his words. 

Roman grinned arrogantly, knowing he had won some small battle, “Never have, never will, Echo the Bunnyman”

Virgil groaned and rolled his eyes, “IT’S ECHO _AND_ THE BUNNY _MEN_ ”

“Virge-”

“RO, HE’S THE ONLY FAMILY I’VE GOT LEFT.” As he spoke, Virgil’s words somehow seemed to hold even more weight in the air than usual. After all, it was one more secret Roman didn’t know. Until now. 

It broke Roman’s heart. He reached out and grabbed an oversized skeleton designed sleeve and made sure his own hazel eyes met Virgil’s gaze, “But he’s not the only family you have.”

Suddenly, the tender moment was broken by Britney Spears singing from Roman’s bedroom:

“You better work bitch! You better work bitch!”

Shit.

It was the ringtone for Roman’s agent. 

The agent who never called before 2pm unless it was really important.

“Sorry Vee, I have to take that.”

Virgil seemed to simultaneously straighten up and shrink as his way of waving it off, “S’FINE, I NEED TO COOL BACK DOWN.”

Roman didn’t have to be told twice as he ran into his bedroom and practically ripped his cellphone off the charger.

“Hello?”

“Hey girl hey, happy holiday!” a very enthusiastic voice shrieked back. On instinct, Roman put his speaker on so his eardrums wouldn’t be assaulted again.

“Remy, aren’t you up a little early?”

“Ugh, the shade, girl, at this hour?! Actually, hang tight for a mo, I gotta find my shades, the lighting in this office is atrocious!”

“Remy, it’s Christmas Day, what are you doing at the agency?”

“First of all, bitch I’m Jewish, so don’t go assuming I’m celebrating along with the rest of the goyim. Secondly, babey, bubbeleh, I’ve got the best goddamn gift of them all for you.”

“What’s that?”

“You got the callback!”

“Which callback?”

“Which callback, he asks me?! THE callback babe!...You’re gonna make me sing it? You really are a bitch...You’ll be back-”

Larry and Dot’s dogs next door could probably hear the highpicthed squeel Roman retaliated with, which was followed by an only slightly softer “ _Shut. Up!_ ”

“No bitch, you shut up cuz I have to give you the deets! You’ve gotta buy the plane ticket ASAP and while you’re here, I’ve got some industry comps burning holes in my pocket that you’re gonna be my date to, plus some fierce pre-NYE networking events. We have a very busy schedule to schedule before I go back to sleep off last night’s martinis-”

“Wait wait, Remy what day is the callback?”

“The 27th, 10am.”

Roman looked at the calendar hanging next to his mirror. Today was the 25th, which meant...

“That’s this Friday,” he realized out loud. He’d have to leave tomorrow night at the latest to get there on time.

“Yea, I know, bae, that’s why we need to get this all set now!”

He knew Remy was right, but the timing was awful. 

He and Virgil were just starting, well, something. 

Whatever it was, having this opportunity finally happen didn’t feel as exciting as he had anticipated.

“Remy, can I call you back?”

“Are you kidding me right now?! No, no ma’am! I set my alarm for you and you’re putting me on hold?!”

“Remy-”

“You get ten minutes, then I’m calling _you_ back and the first words I hear from you better be ‘Thanks, I owe you’!”

The dial tone from Remy’s hang up floated in the air as Roman sat on the edge of his bed, deep in thought over the conversation that had just occurred. 

His concentration was interrupted when he heard a small cough from his doorway. 

Virgil, back at his normal height, was tentatively standing in the middle of the entrance, having heard everything. Roman, apparently, hadn’t closed the door.

“Guess you’re leaving too,” the emo said softly, trying his best not to sound too devastated. Hadn’t they just talked about each other’s abandonment issues? Were they back at the beginning again?

“It’d be less than a week,” Roman said sheepishly, not quite meeting his eyes, “I’d take you with me, but I’ll be paying for my own flight as it is-”

“Wait,” Virgil stopped him, “they're not covering your plane ticket?”

Roman bit his lip and nervously ran his hand through his hair. “No, but it counts as a business expense, I can put it on my tax refund next April.” This was the hardest part of defending himself. While everyone loved to hear about the glamour of the acting industry, the reality of his career involved a lot of such expenses, of both money and time. Most people didn’t understand.

Virgil could only shake his head, “That’s such bullshit.”

The actor shrugged, “That’s showbiz.” 

The sizeshifter snorted. Roman was willing to do a lot for so little. But if he booked the job...

“King George, huh?” Virgil asked. 

“You know the show?” Roman asked with surprise.

“A little,” his roommate admitted, “I’ve been hearing you sing that damn song in the shower for the last two weeks. I finally looked up what the hell the words belonged to.”

Roman sighed, “It’s just a callback, Virgil, it doesn’t mean anything-”

“It does mean something,” the emo interrupted, “It’s a big deal, Roman. I’m really proud of you,” he paused, finally letting a small, hopeful smile emerge, “and I can’t wait to hear how it goes.”

Roman wished he was also a sizeshifter to accommodate his own heart feeling like it had just grown three sizes. He had Virgil’s support, validation, and blessing to follow his dream. There was no better Christmas present in the entire world.

“I’ll be back on Dec 31st,” the actor promised, “and then we’ll have all of 2020 to figure it out!”

Without warning, Virgil walked over to the bed. He towered over the other man from his standing and Roman’s sitting positions. This needed to be fixed and he couldn’t make himself any smaller. The only solution he could think of was to half kneel on the bed himself and kiss Roman squarely and purposefully on the mouth. So he did. After all, the actor had kissed him twice already, it wasn’t that big of a leap, right? The emo had a split second where he considered it may have been a bad idea, but then he realized Roman was rubbing his fingers through his own purple hair and kissing him back. 

Now it was Roman’s turn to blush and laugh when he finally pulled away. “Is it hot in here or is it just me?”

“Just you, baking in your Beast onesie, in Florida,” Virge smirked coyly as swiped his bangs back into their typical formation, “C’mon, we gotta tell Pat and Lo that you’re going to the room where it happens.”

“Your bedroom?” Roman remarked slyly.

Damn it, how did Roman always seem to make him blush harder? “Your callback, you thirsty smartass!”

“Aw, you think I’m smart!”

“Don’t push it, Princey.”

………………

Roman and Virgil told Patton and Logan the news. Patton squeezed Roman’s middle hard enough to nearly knock the wind out of him as he squealed even higher than Roman had. Logan was obviously less affectionate, but also very impressed and pleased for his friend. His students all knew Hamilton, and he was an admirer of the show’s attributes by proxy. 

After Roman, Patton, and Logan called their families to send them their love for the holiday, each of the roommates selected a Christmas themed movie to watch. Roman started with Belle’s Enchanted Christmas, which they all agreed was not that great, but had a blast picking it apart. Patton then had the roommates watch Meet Me in St Louis, which had even Logan misty eyed. Logan himself was still debating which Doctor Who Christmas Special to select, but it was Virgil’s turn next, and he pulled out Die Hard. Somewhere around the elevator shaft scene, Logan had a realization.

“Virgil, I don’t mean to be rude, but did we miss opening your Christmas presents?”

The emo paused the television. 

“Um, yea, I just figured with everything else going on, uh,” he hesitated, “They’re kind of stupid in comparison honestly, I didn’t even wrap them...”

“Oh now, Virgil, I’m sure they aren’t stupid, but don’t feel obligated-” Patton began.

“Naw it’s cool Pat, just a sec”, the skeleton clad student sighed as he slunk away towards his bat cave from the Beast, the Unicorn, and the Spirit of Christmas once more.

“Perhaps, I shouldn’t have brought it up?”

“It’s ok Lo, to be honest,” Patton dropped his voice, “I needed a little break from all that heated violence. I just hope John and Hollie get back together soon!”

Virgil reappeared clutching what looked like three pieces of paper to his chest.

“So, I borrowed the digital art tools and rented a tablet from the school’s library. Then I used some of my printer points cuz- anyway, they’re not that great, but, you know, student budget and all, I hope they’re ok enough.”

He passed out the papers with downcast eyes to his roommates, the images facing down as well.

When they each flipped their paper over, they were met with drawn versions of themselves.

Logan was flying in a sky filled with sparks and stars.

Patton was posed with hands on his hips, his standard cardigan flowing behind him like a cape.

Roman was dressed to look like Prince Charming, in a fighting warrior position bravely holding a katana.

They all looked like heroes.

“You-” Roman started.

“You hate it, don’t you?” Virgil said dejectedly, until he looked up from the floor.

Instead of Patton, it was Roman’s turn to be an emotional mess.

“You made me _fan art_?!” The drama queen cried, “This is the best Christmas ever!”

“What? No, they’re portraits!”

“Same difference you beautiful dark brooding secret artist extraordinaire!”

“Ok, well, you didn’t have to phrase it like that,” Virgil mumbled with embarrassment at the praise bestowed upon him.

…...

The door to the patio had a large window, splitting the polished wood, so that if the blinds were up, anyone who was in the backyard could see what was going on inside. Today, the blinds were up, and a small yellow snake was watching the scene unfold.

He saw Roman scoop Virgil up and kiss him.

He saw Patton smile at the sight.

He saw Logan put his hand on the small of Patton’s back.

He saw everything he felt he needed to see before slithering passed Patton’s wheelbarrow garden and under the fence.

He morphed into a nondescript man, reached into one of his pockets, and placed a letter into the house’s mailbox. 

Then he turned into a small bright yellow canary and flew away.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And with that, we’re finally finished with Christmas 2019. I wonder how 2020 will go for our heroes in Florida...


End file.
